Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team Rocket
by Rocket Wolf
Summary: One day, Meowth is selected for a mission in a world he has never even heard about. Next thing he knows, he, Jessie and James are all in the world of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon! Will they be able to band together and save this world? on hiatus x x
1. Meowth's Secret

**Disclaimer: Don't own Pokemon, but one day I will. After I'm done taking over the world.**

OK, so this story idea came to me not too long ago while I was playing Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Rescue Team, and painfully waiting for the arrival of Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Exploration Team. It made me want to write a PMD story, but I also wanted to write another Team Rocket story--so I combined the two! I don't know if this has been done before--maybe something similar has, but I'm not ever in the greatest mood to go through all 18,000-19,000 and such fanfics to figure it out. Anyway, this fic takes place after the main story of the first Mystery Dungeon and before the story of the second one, with Jessie, James and Meowth as the main heroes. I hope you enjoy, and remember to save up some money and reserve your copy of the new PMD: Exploration Team before it hits shelves! (I know I will!)

It was a normal autumn day, the cool breezes settling on the trees in a thick covered forest. The nocturnal inhabitants were all sleeping soundly inside every burrow, nook and cranny to which they called home. The environment seemed unusually quiet--not to mention, packed with delicious berries--to a certain meowth's delight. The feline padded through the undergrowth on his hind legs, his eyes blinking and mouth watering savagely as he searched. After smelling the air and realising he lost the berry scent, he sighed in desperation and hung his head. "Well, dis stinks." he replied out loud. He kicked a nearby rock and sighed again.

Yup, this meowth wasn't just any meowth--he was known as the talking meowth of Team Rocket, a criminal organization located in Kanto. Meowth the talking pokemon and his partners, two humans called Jessie and James, have traveled together in spite of their differences in hopeful pursuit of a boy's pikachu. Meowth couldn't count the numerous failures over the years--all the plans, machines and robots that they have spent their lives on perfecting all seemed like a big waste. Not only that, Meowth and his friends never could afford food, and the cat could feel his stomach grumbling as he walked. Jessie had ordered him to find berries and that's exactly what he intended to do, though his luck didn't seem to be too great at the moment.

Meowth patted his empty gut and stopped for a second. "Huh...what I wouldn't do for a hot, crispy cheeseburger with fries right about now." he remarked. "And a milkshake, too. Maybe chocolate and vanilla swirl...man, dat would be delish!" He licked his lips as he trekked on, hoping to find any measly sign of a meal.

The wind picked up a little and a couple leaves blew in his direction. Meowth spat as they hit him in the face. Sometimes, when desperate, Meowth had eaten leaves in his lifetime. But in the autumn, the leaves went bad and crunchy and were to no edibility.

After the wind stopped, Meowth uncovered his eyes and shook his fur back to normal. He blinked a couple times and regained his footing, about to walk once more when there was a small noise. Meowth looked down below him and saw a tiny berry next to his feet.

"Ah!" he exclaimed, his eyes lighting up as he scooped the berry into his paws. "Where'd you came from, ya tasty little beauty, you?" he asked. There was another small noise and a second berry fell from the sky and rolled up next to him. Meowth grabbed this one up as well and whilst doing so, noticed a third berry falling from above, which he also took custody. "It's rainin' berries?" he asked in wonder, looking up and drooling as he awaited an encore.

The tree from above ruffled and berries fell everywhere, answering to the cat's prayers. Meowth squealed in joy, selfishly stuffing his arms with as much as he could hold before any other critter could swoop up and take them. Berries began dropping from his collection and every time he leaned over to pick one up, another fell. As he picked up the berries, determined not to leave until he had them all, a strange mystical cry sounded on the wind.

"Huh?" Meowth perked his ears and looked around, absentmindedly letting berries pour from out of his arms. A weird, flashing image flew behind him and he turned, barely missing it. He scratched his head and began to ponder this when the image flashed again, this time right in front of him. Meowth jumped, dropping all of the berries. "Wha--what's goin' on?!" he shouted.

"Finally..." said the wind. "I have found you."

Meowth backed away in fear. "Da wind! It speaks!" he cried in terror. He began to bow down. "Oh wind, I know I done some bad stuff in my life, but please, gimmie another chance! I know I won't screw it up dis time, promise!"

The wind whooshed past him again and Meowth hid behind a nearby tree, fearing the worst. What was going on? One minute he was mindlessly picking berries and now there was a voice on the wind, speaking to him, searching for his tattered soul. He didn't know what to do. Grabbing up a couple berries, he threw it at the wind as it fought at him. "Take dat!" he shouted, chucking the fruit. "And dis! And dat! And a little bit more of dis!"

Flinging the berries didn't seem to make the situation any better, as the voice came closer and Meowth could feel the cold wind piercing at his skin. Then, out of the smoke...a shadow? Meowth crouched and covered his eyes. "Please! Don't eat me! I don't taste good! I don't taste good!" he whimpered in his fetal position, not daring to make another move.

The shadow came closer and closer. Meowth could feel the sweat trickling down his short coat of fur. He knew this could very well be his death, his last minute as a living, breathing creature. He wanted to call for his comrades, but it would be no use to him now. He was too late. He could already feel his heart bursting inside his chest as the shadow approached him, for possibly the last time. It was over.

"Why is that fleabag taking so long? I only sent him to get a few berries for the soup." grumbled a woman with pinkish-red hair that curled out behind her like some kind of cinnamon bun. She stirred a stick in an pot of hot water over a tiny fire.

Her partner, a man with short bluish-purple hair, shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno, Jess. We shouldn't have made him go out there all alone. It could be dangerous..."

"What, you mean at _this_ time of day?" asked the woman, Jessie. "Most of those forest pokemon are nocturnal and even if they weren't, what's so bad about taking chances every once in a while anyway?"

"Well...maybe. It's just, I don't feel too good about it." replied James. "I get this weird tingly feeling in my gut..." He patted his belly.

Jessie lifted her eyebrow. "Doesn't that mean you have to go to the bathroom?" she asked.

"No. I was pretty sure it was my conscience." James answered.

"James! Your conscience doesn't live inside your stomach!" yelled Jessie. "It lives in your head!"

James scratched his chin. "That would explain the voices..." he answered.

Jessie slapped her forehead. "Look...whatever." she said, mixing the spoon in the pot. "Didn't I tell you earlier to go finish that machine of yours? They don't build themselves, you know."

James nodded. "Already finished."

"What? Already? Not possible..." she argued. "Now go get it and show it to me. I must see it."

James gave her a worried look. "My conscience is telling me I shouldn't listen to you."

"Screw your conscience! Go get it for me or else!" she barked. "AND DON'T MAKE ME USE THE MALLET!"

"AAAAH! Right, right! I'll go get it!" he shouted in fear, beating the heck out of Jessie's sight.

The woman just sighed and continued stirring in the pot. "He better not have messed it up this time..." she mumbled to herself--more out loud than to herself, really.

Not too much later, James returned with a large metal contraption in his arms. Jessie glanced up at him as he let it land on the ground with a much bigger noise than they expected. She left her soup (if you could call it that) to check out the machinery. She fiddled with it a little and looked over it as James watched nervously, biting his nails.

"So..." said Jessie after scanning the thing. "What's it do?"

"Well, I was just about to tell you." James said. He leaned down on the ground and pointed to the different pieces of it as he explained. "It's called the Mega-Trapper 3000, guaranteed to catch even the naughtiest pikachus! This button here activates an extension--electric-proof of course--that is programmed to aim directly on target and grab pikachu without fail. The blue button over here absorbs pikachu's electricity, making him immobile to use electric attacks. The greenish-yellow button here will create two straps on it...kinda like a backpack, allowing us to carry him around easier without dropping him like we usually do. Then of course, the thing itself is full-proof to all pokemon attacks of different kinds! Demonstrate."

James placed Jessie's soup bowl aside and put the Mega-Trapper 3000 in the burning fire. The flames licked away at it, but were not powerful enough to get through the trap. "See? Fire-proof..." said James. He grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it on the machine, but once again, nothing happened. "Water-proof..." James said again. He grabbed a handful of grass and chucked it at the MT3000. "Even grass-proof!"

"Hmmmm...impressive." admitted Jessie. She once again looked over it and frowned. "What about ghost types? Is it ghost-proof?"

"Ga...ghost-proof?" stammered James, completely forgetting about the element altogether.

"What? Do you mean to tell me you forgot about ghost pokemon?" asked Jessie, knowing the answer to her question all too well. "Don't you realise by now that the twerps are gonna have some psycho trainer following them around with a ghost pokemon? They always aim for the weak spot!" She picked the heavy machine up and placed it in James's arms and he fell over because of the weight. "Remodel it!"

"Awwww...but Jessie..."

"Do it now, I say! I have a paper fan, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Jessie reminded him. She took it out and held it just inches away from James's face.

"OH! Alright, alright! I'm on my way!" he screamed, scampering away as fast as a person could with something big and metal in their arms.

...

Meanwhile with Meowth, things weren't going so great either.

The shadow that walked towards him began to step even closer. It was coming towards Meowth, and though he was covering his eyes so he would not see, he could sense it approaching through the light footsteps on the ground.

Much to the cat's surprise, the shadow was just a small pokemon. It poked at Meowth a little and giggled. "Hey, you're funny! Momma was right about you!" came the chipper voice.

"Huh?" Meowth said in shock as he rubbed his eyes. All this time he had thought he was dying--that his life was coming to a hopeless end to which he could never change for the rest of eternity. He had pictured his own gravestone, a tiny rock to which carved out his name, one that would never go down in history.

But instead, as Meowth got back his breath, he saw a pokemon called ralts staring up at him with giant brown eyes. The cat jumped back in surprise. "Gah!"

The ralts laughed again, covering his mouth as he watched Meowth fall over, dumbstruck. "Wow, I like you!" he decided. "I hope we can be friends!"

Meowth was just recovering from his first fall when he saw a much larger image appear besides the ralts. "Now, now, Ralts." scolded the figure, a gardevoir by the looks of it. "How many times have I told you not to scare off the Stronger One?"

The ralts looked down at his toes in shame. "Sorry, Momma." he apologised.

Gardevoir smiled down at him. "It's OK, my child. As long as we have him here, our world shall be saved. Everything is going to be alright, now."

Meowth gawked at them in confusion. "Wait...wait a second. Me? Da Stronger One? Aint dat supposed to be da job for a powerful pokemon or someting? I mean, I can't save your world. I've got my own business to attend ta." He began to walk away, taking some berries as he did so. But as soon as he started getting somewhere, both psychic pokemon appeared in front of him and he jumped again, spilling the assortment of fruit by his feet.

"I'm sorry, I'm afraid we haven't introduced ourselves, yet." said the gardevoir with a nod. "My name is Gardevoir, and this is my son, Ralts." She gestured toward the pokemon, who giggled once more. Gardevoir smiled and turned back to Meowth. "And both of us have come to look for you. Oh, it's a miracle. A true miracle, it is." She put her hands together in silent joy.

"What da? Miracle?" asked a confused Meowth. "I'm no miracle, 'less ya want someone ta take out da garbage. I'm also a pretty good plumber if ya wants ta know da truth."

"Momma, is he _really_ the Stronger One?" Meowth heard the Ralts ask his mother.

"Yes, dear. Of course it is him." she replied. "Can't you see now? The way that he talks--it is human speech, I can tell this. And how he stands is not the position of a normal meowth. He is the special one, just like in the legends."

Meowth laughed at this. "OK, now dat's too much, my friend! Tell me, what's da joke in dis? I mean, _da legends_? Pffft. I don't believe in stuff like dat." He waved his paw to show his disapproval. "Now if you excuse me, I gots to go now. Tanks for entertainin' me, though." He began to walk away again but this time, a psychic attack lifted him up off the ground.

"Wha?" asked Meowth, getting lifted off the ground. The psychic attack pulled him back to face both pokemon and dropped him down in the exact spot. Both Gardevoir and Ralts stared down at him with serious faces. Meowth looked at them and sighed. "Dis isn't a joke...is it?" he asked a bit disappointed.

"I'm afraid not." replied Gardevoir in a sad tone. "Our world is in incredible danger, and in no less than a couple weeks, it could be permanently destroyed forever."

"Yea, and only the Stronger One...the one in the legends...can come to save us all." added Ralts.

Meowth blinked a couple times. "Hold on...I don't get dis. Why do you tink I could save ya? I mean, face it. I look like a walkin' talkin' freak."

Ralts again laughed, and his mother gave him a cold stare to silence him. She turned back to the cat. "Yes, but you're the closest pokemon we found to be human." she answered.

"Huh, me? I'm not a human!" Meowth countered.

"Yes, we know. We did not seek a human--no, not this time. Instead, we have come to find a pokemon with human attributes, one who lives amongst them and shares their intelligence."

Meowth laughed again at this as he thought off Jessie and James. "Ha! Dem humans...dey aren't smart. Trust me. Da ones I hang around couldn't be more idiotic if dey tried." He stopped for a second, pondering the psychic's words. "Wait, what do ya mean, _not this time_? Did ya seek a human before?"

"Indeed, we did." admitted Gardevoir. "I was sent to find someone who could save the pokemon world from the natural disasters. I could not find a pokemon strong enough, so I came to a human." She looked down at Meowth and the way he was standing--so human-like. "But now, we have a bigger problem. And this time I have found out about you, Meowth. You are exactly the kind of pokemon we need to be our hero. You match everything in the legends about the Stronger One...you must be him."

"Wow." said Meowth. He could actually feel himself blushing. "Tanks...do ya really tink I could measure up to dat kind of greatness?"

"Why, yes. You are the Stronger One, aren't you?" she asked, winking at him.

"Heh..." replied Meowth, slowly regaining himself. "I guess so. But...I mean, since I'm da Stronger One...what do I have ta do? I mean, ta save your world?"

"Oh, you come with us, of course." answered Gardevoir.

"Wait...WHA?" asked Meowth, going off balance a little due to the surprise. The sudden offer had come without warning. He just couldn't _leave..._what about the berries he was collecting? What about Jessie and James? He cleared his throat. "Ya mean, right now?" he inquired uncertainly.

Ralts laughed childishly. "Yea! Momma and me came just so we could bring you with us! Everyone's gonna be so happy you're coming!" He spun around delightfully by his mother's feet. "This is the greatest day ever!"

Meowth wanted to laugh along with the joyful pokemon, but he just didn't feel good at all inside. He looked on sadly, a look of longing in his big, feline eyes.

Gardevoir sensed this and turned to Meowth in concern. "Meowth...are you alright?"

"Hm?...oh, right. I guess so." he replied with a sigh. He saw Gardvoir looking at him, curious and upset from Meowth's hesitation. "It's just..." he started, not knowing how he could explain. "I gots friends here. I can't just leave 'em...I...dey...I mean, I don't know..."

Gardevoir looked down at her feet in shame and Ralts, seeing this, mimicked her change in emotions. "I'm sorry but...if it were up to me, I would have never made it this way, but..."

"But...what?" asked Meowth, not sure he wanted to know the answer.

Gardevoir sighed. "See, you have a choice. You either come or stay. That's just the way it is..."

"Right, well, I'd be glad to come." Meowth said in hope of raising her spirits. "But can't my friends come, too?"

Gardevoir blinked. "Well...we have only come to seek you, Meowth. The reason we chose you for our hero was because you were un-human and pure. The last time we brought a human to our world, it unraveled a legend. I don't know much of it, as my memory was cleared from the past since then, but I hear it was devastating. We don't want to bring humans back to our world ever again...to keep it safe and secure."

"But...what's wrong with 'em?" asked Meowth, not quite understanding. "I mean, I know dey can be annoyin' at times, but dey can have a heart as good as a pokemon's, can't dey?"

Gardevoir had to laugh softly at this. Meowth did seem like a caring soul, but none of the pokemon from their world were ready to trust humans after what happened before. "Yes, humans can have hearts as good as pokemon. But some of them can also be dirty and evil, and they have a good way for covering it up too."

"You don't have to worry. My friends are nice--kinda dim-witted--but nice, once ya get ta know dem." Meowth assured.

"I'm sure they are, Meowth," said Gardevoir, for she did believe the cat, "but we just aren't ready to take the risk. Besides..." she looked up, as if to escape from the conversation. "Once you save our world, we can return you here without any regrets. It shouldn't take that long, I hope."

"It won't?" asked Meowth.

"If all goes according to plan, it shouldn't." Gardevoir replied with a nod. "But I cannot persuade you to come. You must be the one to make that choice."

Meowth looked beyond the forest, to where his friends must have been awaiting his arrival. "Well...I guess I'll go." he decided finally, after pondering a bit. "But do ya tink I could tell dem goodbye before I go?"

"Well..." trailed Gardevoir. "Yes, you may. But don't tell them where you are going, as we want to keep our world secret from humans. I'll let you spend a little time with them this afternoon and Ralts and I will be back to pick you up around sunset."

"So..." said Ralts, who had been silent throughout the discussion. "Deal?"

Meowth looked at both psychic pokemon, holding their hands out to him. His eyes darted from one to the next, until he finally made up his mind. He placed his paw in the middle and shook on it. "Deal." he promised.

"OK, I got it right this time Jessie, just look!" said James, placing the huge machine by her feet. She was still at the fire, cooking the soup. "It's ghost-proof, now. See?" he prodded, clicking down a button to show illusionary ghosts fighting to break in. "Nothing or anything pertaining to or of ghosts can get through! Great, isn't it?"

Jessie put down her stirring spoon to look the machine over once more. She glanced at every side of it before turning back to James. "What about ice? Is it ice proof?" she asked.

"Ehh...ice?" asked James, his face looking pretty pathetic as the error was noted in his work.

"James! How many times do I have to tell you this?" she asked, pushing down his nose and staring him straight in the eyes. "It's not done 'til it's 100 percent full-proof! Now remodel it...again!" She threw the robotic machinery in his arms and he fell over a second time due to the weight.

"Gee, it's as if I have to do everything around here." Jessie exclaimed, rolling her eyes. "Looks like soon I'll have to be doing Meowth's job. I mean, how long does it honestly take to find a couple fresh berries in the woods these days? I bet he's just fooling around, napping and keeping us waiting while I'm stuck here, cooking--" A couple berries rolled down to the soup Jessie was making and she looked up. Meowth stood there with the berries in his arms and Jessie looked on, embarrassed that he had overheard the rambling.

"Oh...thanks, Meowth." she replied sullenly, taking the berries and dropping them into the pot.

"Eh...don't mention it." he shrugged. He knew it wasn't too much unlike Jessie to criticize him while he was gone and he was perfectly fine with it. What bothered him more, was the fact that he would be leaving them both to save another world--a world he hardly knew anything about, to save pokemon that he didn't know about, either.

"Good thing you're back." James said to cut the silence. "We were worried about you. Remember, tomorrow's the big day, Meowth!" He put his lab goggles back over his face and chiseled into the machine, most likely fixing it to Jessie's orders. (A/N: a chisel? o.O)

Meowth managed to keep a straight face. "Yea, I know." he mumbled. James and Jessie had been going on and on about it the last couple of days and Meowth himself was pretty excited about it as well. But now he was going to miss it, and he wasn't sure how to reply.

"Is something wrong, Meowth?" asked James, sensing the depressing nature of his tone. "You seem a little...I dunno, pale. Hairballs, again?"

Meowth twiddled with his fingers. "Nah...no hairballs. No hairballs..." he repeated, too transfixed by his thoughts to really listen to half the words his friends were saying. All he could think about was leaving them. He was beginning to feel a pang of guilt.

"Yea, Meowth. What's with you today? You're not your usual yammering, blabbering big-mouth self." Jessie added. "Cat got your tongue or something?"

"Hahahaha! Oh, I get it! Like, Meowth's a cat! So, it's like...cat's got his tongue, but he is a cat so...so it's just like...ehehehe..." laughed James.

Jessie gave him _"the look"_, sending enough fear though him without even mentioning the mallet or the fan. "That's right...back to work." she grumbled, satisfied that her staring technique had given her this quick and witty advantage.

"And _you..._" she said, gesturing towards Meowth. The cat flinched and looked up at her as she spoke. "You start acting like yourself, again. You're starting to scare me."

About an hour later, Jessie finally finished the making of her delicious rotten berry soup. "Dinner's ready! Come get it before I eat it all." she warned. James was there faster than the speed of sound, not ready to miss a meal--but when you're starving, who doesn't? Well, somebody didn't, apparently...

Jessie looked on and noticed the absence of Meowth. "Where is that cat?" she asked. "He's always here for mealtimes. He better get his tail over here before he misses out."

"Maybe he didn't hear you. Call him again." James suggested.

Jessie took a deep breath. "MEOOOOOWTH! DINNEEEER!" she yelled. All she got in response where a few chirping crickets. No Meowth.

James looked worried. "There might be something wrong with him. He could be sick or something."

"Or maybe he's just being ornery." Jessie quickly argued, cutting him off. "I mean, if he was sick, he'd be spewing hairballs all over the place. And he doesn't look hurt at all." She glanced at the faraway tan image, curled up next to an old oak. "If he wants to miss mealtime, that's fine with me. More for us."

James, torn between friendship and food, found himself agreeing with Jessie's explanation. "Well, I guess you're right..." he said a bit reluctantly, taking a helping of soup.

...

Two hours after finishing the soup and putting the finishing touches on James's machine and the Meowth balloon, the sky began to darken which meant another cold, windy autumn night to sleep through for the Rockets. Jessie was laying out their dirty, matted sleeping bags onto the ground and James was cleaning his fully remodeled MT3000 with a wipe to give it a glossy shine. Meowth, however, was still laying out by the old oak, lost in worry and thought.

"Tomorrow...tomorrow will be a day to remember." James whispered to himself as he tucked the MT3000 safely in between two hidden trees. Tired, he approached Jessie, who was already preparing to get into her sleeping bag for a much needed rest.

"Tomorrow will make all this pikachu chasing worthwhile." she murmured as he came into sight. "I can't wait to see the boss's reaction when we finally get hold of the twerp's rat for him. He'll give us a promotion for sure."

"Yea..." James nodded and looked up to where Meowth used to be sitting by the oak. Fifteen minutes ago, he informed his friends that he needed to go off to wee and insured them it wouldn't take long, but he was gone for much longer than James had expected. "But I wonder if Meowth will be OK. He's really worrying me. I think we should at least go check up on him and see what he's up to."

"For once, I have to agree with you." she replied, slowly getting out of her _"bed"_. "He never acts like this, not even when his brain is extra wacko. He must be hiding something. He has some kind of secret he doesn't want us to know about..."

"A female, maybe?" inquired James.

"Hmmm, yea. Could be. Love can turn you into a totally different person, I guess." she shrugged. "But I've never felt love, so I wouldn't know." Suddenly, the two of them locked eyes and noticing this, both turned away in haste.

"Yea...me neither." agreed James. It was silent for a moment as both were speechless, when Jessie got up and finally spoke.

"Well," she decided, "we should probably start looking. Y'know, for Meowth."

James nodded quickly. "Yea, night can be a rough and dangerous place for a little guy like him, out there all alone. We better find him."

With this, they grabbed a flashlight and went off to search for their furry-tailed friend.

Meowth looked back, angry with himself for not gaining the courage to give his friends a mere goodbye. He sighed heavily. _I bet dey don't even suspect a ting, me leavin' and all. Maybe all dis "savin da world" stuff isn't such a good idea after all. _The wind picked up and Meowth wrapped his tail around his body for warmth. He looked up to the stars and stared. _Anytime now..._

As if on cue, a transparent image came in front of his face and Meowth didn't need a second of time to know very well that it was Gardevoir. Her son, whom Meowth suspected must have tagged along everywhere with her, also appeared by her side.

"Meowth...it is time." she reminded him. "Have you said goodbye to your friends?"

Meowth looked back again, knowing he would regret it later, and turned back to the psychic. "Yea," he replied, "I'm ready now."

Gardevoir smiled down at him in approval. "Thank you. Your kindness is truly appreciated, oh Stronger One."

"Awww..." said Meowth, blushing with his paw behind his head. "Ya gots to stop callin' me that..."

Gardevoir laughed softly. "Yes, but it's true. I just can't believe you are actually coming to help save us. You are a miracle, Meowth. Thanks, again."

Meowth smiled, though on the inside he felt his heart tearing away from his past life, and a lump formed in his throat. "Uhh...you're welcome."

From afar, Jessie and James finally caught sight of Meowth from a couple of bushes they were in. He was with two other figures, and both could tell they belonged to the psychic pokemon, Gardevoir and Ralts. Meowth seemed to be talking to them in English, and the pokemon returned him the answer in their own special language.

"That's Meowth..." James whispered. "What's he doing?"

"He appears to be speaking with those other pokemon." Jessie whispered back. "But I can't make out much of the conversation, because the pokemon are speaking back to him in...Pokenese, or whatever their native tongue is."

"Could this be Meowth's secret?" asked James.

"Yea, he's really up to something he doesn't want us to know about. I can tell." replied Jessie. "Now let's stop with the chatter so we can hear what he's saying." Both of them dived lower in their hiding places, staring out of the darkness with blue and green eyes.

Meanwhile, as Meowth secretly worried about his friends, Ralts, being the sensor of emotions, looked to Meowth in worry. "Are you sad?" he asked.

Meowth, surprised of this, quickly redeemed himself. "Who, me? Sad? No--not at all, kid. I'm very fine, I tink. No worries."

Gardevoir smiled at the cat again. "Alright, so I'm going to take you with us back to our world. Don't worry--this won't hurt, really. But you may want to shield your eyes a little."

"Shield my--" started Meowth as a blast of pure white escaped from Gardevoir and consumed him in its clutches. The light was certainly blinding, and he did indeed find the need to protect his vision. The white aura reached out of boundaries a little, spreading within a thirty inch radius. Jessie and James soon became affected by the brightness and covered their eyes in pain.

"What's happening?" asked James, unable to see. "Where are we?"

"I don't know! But wherever we are, I think we're getting sucked into some kind of black hole or something! Er, wait. A white hole. Or maybe some kind of vortex!"

"I'm scared!" came James's shaky voice, the last words he spoke before both he and Jessie felt themselves fall into a deep slumber and drifted gently into what felt like a world of dreams and fantasy, to a world they never knew existed--until now.

_Wheee! Now it looks like J and J managed to tag along with Meowth. So...what pokemon do you think they'll turn out as? It could be any... -el gaspeth-_

_Eh, sorry about a sorta long and boring beginning. I wanted to get all the "before-hand" stuff out of the way in one chapter, but I wouldn't be surprised if other chapters will turn out this long, especially since this is my first hand at a more...ehem...serious story. (well, maybe a little nonsense XD) Anyway, reviews would be nice--feedback and such would be appreciated I guess. I just like to know people are interested. X3_


	2. We're POKEMON?

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon but I _do _own Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which is the best game ever created in the history of the gaming world.**

Wow, I really stumped some of you guys at what kind of pokemon they were gonna be. I'm so good at this! (XD) Anyway, there's not too much to say right now. Just hopefully you'll enjoy this next chapter as much as the last one.

...

"Yea...meatloaf. I like meatloaf..." grumbled James in his sleep, rolling to his side and drooling. "No...no, don't take the meatloaf...take the leftovers...you're a nice alien...thanks for the cereal..." He rolled over again. "That pizza's mine...back off...let me return to fairyland...I want to meet the Dairy Queen..." He continued tossing around until he hit a rock and woke up immediately.

"OW! Stop hitting me with a violin!" he shrieked, still half-asleep in the world of fantasy. He shook himself off, realising he was in reality once more. A couple pokemon blinked at him in confusion, causing him to become embarrassed. He wiped the drool off with his arm. "You didn't see any of that...OK?" he demanded uncertainly.

The pokemon shrugged and left to continue their business. James knelt down and felt his head. "Ay, my head...I haven't been having any sinus trouble for a year until now. And that's no trouble I wanna make double. Oh...where does Jessie keep the Asprin?" He looked around. "Wait...where is Jessie?"

A tumbleweed passed by almost on cue and the wind trailed behind it to signal that Jessie was not there. James scratched his chin worriedly. "Hello? Jess? Meowth? Please don't prank me again. I'm not...feeling good." He slumped down on the ground, pooped by only the simplest movements. He blinked up at the fiery sun. "Where are you guys?" he asked. He looked back to the ground where he was sprawled flat, his paws reaching out in front of him as he--

"Wait...what the blazes?" James asked. He sat up and waved his left...er...paw in front of his face to make sure it was his. "Huh...well this is odd. Must be an illusion or something...ow! Head..." He rubbed his sore noggin. While doing so, he felt a large tuft of scruffy, messy hair and what seemed to be ears on both sides. "Wow, I never remembered those being there...say, something isn't right about this..." He began to get suspicious and a bit scared. Not only did he have a killer wicked headache, but he somehow started discovering that his body image was beginning to feel a little altered. Either that, or he was just going psycho.

"Yea, that's it. I'm just crazy..." he laughed, getting up and shaking off his worries, "or maybe just sick. Oh, I sure hope I'm not sick. I don't like being sick! Especially the kind where I have to go see a therapist!" He held his head again, moaning while doing so when he spied a small puddle of water not too far away. "A drink...maybe a drink will help. I'm real thirsty!" He hadn't noticed how parched he really was until he saw the water and he drooled again and approached quickly. He splashed right in, slurping up the pond water in a hurried and messy manner before licking his chops and catching his breath.

"Mmmmm...the water tastes fresh here! This is a nice place. I hope their food is this good!" He started falling into a dream about food when the water in what was left of the puddle rippled and provided an image. Being quite drowsy and slow, he didn't really notice anything too different about his reflection until he turned back and looked again. Tumbling back, he feel in surprise and shock.

"Gah! Whoa, get away! PLEASE, DON'T HURT ME!" He sweatdropped and looked on stupidly, realising he just got scared of a picture in the water. Knowing well that it must have been his reflection, he peeked into it curiously and managed to conserve his fear. In his reflection was definitely a pokemon, and it became evident he wasn't himself anymore. "That's just silly." he chuckled. "That can't possibly be me...can it?"

He stared back down in the murky puddle. Two big, green eyes with loop-shaped pupils stared back up at him with a tiny, twitching pink nose and small fangs from inside his mouth, gaping in shock. He had tufts of blue fur growing out of his head and cheeks, not to mention giant ears sticking out from the sides. His face and the front part of his body were completely blue whereas his chest and bottom were coloured a darkish black. The most interesting aspect to him seemed to be his tail, sprouting from his end with a flickering star at the tip. Scared, but still highly curious, he scanned the image in the water. "Who's that pokemon?" he asked himself.

He shuffled in his pocket, pulled out a pokemon card and read, "Shinx, the flash pokemon. When danger approaches, it is known to dazzle its fur and flee while the foe is momentarily blinded. Its forelegs have a unique muscle-based system that allows it to generate electricity." His tail sparked and he looked back to the crackling noises. "Wow..." he said in awe. "Guess I'm an electric type pokemon, like Pikachu!"

He looked back at his pokemon card and came to wonder how he retrieved it from his pocket, for he wasn't wearing any pants for the part. He put the card back where he got it and was amazed to find that he did still have his pockets, only now they seemed to be...flabs of skin. "Wait...does that mean...yes!" he squealed, once noticing he still had his bottlecap collection with him. He put a paw in his left "pocket" and took out a handful of bottlecaps. "This is cool! Awkward, but...cool!" He heaved a sigh. "Too bad Jessie and Meowth aren't here. It's so lonely without them."

He sat down on his haunches and sniffed the air, hoping that perhaps his sense of smell could guide him to his friends. He stayed in that same position for a couple minutes without any luck of catching what would be a familiar stench, when he heard talking from not too far away. He looked on and noticed it was coming from a pokemon called exeggcute. Bewildered of the talking pokemon, his pricked his ears and approached.

"Excuse me," he said politely as he came close. "But are you speaking?"

The six eggs turned to him, the leader in front, who was obviously in the middle of arguing with a fellow of his kind. "Well...sure. _You're _talking, aren't you?"

"Uhhh...why, yes. Yes, I am." he nodded.

"Then, what's it to ya?"

"Oh, sorry." he replied, stepping back. "I didn't mean to upset you. I just...I wanted to ask if you've seen my friends. I...I think I lost them last night and I have no idea what's happening."

The eggs turned to each other and muttered to themselves a bit. The leader turned back to James. "What do they look like?" he asked.

James was about to give Jessie's description when he suddenly came to think that she could have been possibly turned into a pokemon as well. She could look like anything at the moment and James had no idea how to reply. "Well...I don't know what she looks like _now..._" he admitted. "But I remember last night, she was still human, so I'm not sure--"

The lead egg gave him a weird look. "Human? Yeah, right! Ever since that whole Ninetales Legend, Arceus passed up that law that insured we would never let another human into our world, isn't that right?"

The egg next to him nodded. "Of course, I thought everyone knew that."

"Oh, well...I didn't know." James replied absentmindedly. If humans weren't allowed into this _world, _then how'd he get here? He decided not to tell the exeggcute. "But who is Arceus? Is he, like, your leader or something? Where are we anyway? Why are we even talking in the first place? WHAT KIND OF DREAM IS THIS?!"

The pokemon stared at him in disbelief. "Kid, you're outta your mind!"

"I'm not a kid!" James snapped. "I'm-I'm--" he sat down and rubbed his head. "I think I am out of my mind." He sweatdropped.

"Riiiight..." exclaimed the lead egg, rolling his eyes. He turned to his comrades. "Come, we cannot waste time. We must collect some berries before winter starts!"

"Winter? What's a winter?" asked the egg without a head.

The first egg slanted his eyes. "Something that someone as dense and headless as you wouldn't be able to depicter." And to all the others, he said, "Now, let's get this show on the road, already!"

"Yea!" agreed one egg.

"Of course!" agreed another.

"Right away!" said a third.

"**Cheese**!" yelled the headless egg.

All six eggs began to hop away, and James followed in curiosity. "Hey, where are you going?" he asked. His answer was not returned as the exeggcute (is this one pokemon or six?) jabbered at each other and bounced away into a small hole in an oak tree. He tried to continue his pursuit, but he was much to big to fit in the empty space. He reached his paw in and tried to grab for one of them, but he could feel nothing.

"Well, that was a bit rude." he scoffed as he withdrew his paw. He sat down for a moment to feel the autumn wind rush through his fur. A couple leaves got tangled in his face and he shook them off. "Guess I should probably go look for Jessie and Meowth." he decided after thinking it over.

So taking off once again, he put his nose in the air in hopes of finding a familiar stench. Most pokemon could smell better than people, couldn't they? Though he started to feel he was catching on, the wind kept blowing away his trail and he went right back to where he started every time. It was becoming a frustrating and impossible task. He was about to sit down and give up for good when his ears picked up a scream on the wind and he began to get his hopes up, for he knew the exact source from where it had come.

"JESSIE!" he barked in uncontrollable excitement. He ran right towards the place where he heard it come from; he was obviously close. He followed the approximate path and kept his nose up so he wouldn't lose any trace of it. It didn't take too long before he heard another similar scream dangerously nearby. He pushed through a couple trees and squeezed out from underneath a hedge when he stopped.

He was in a large open area filled with fresh grass and sweet smelling flowers. There was a small lake extending about a radius of three feet in which a couple young water pokemon dived up and down from the surface, practicing their moves on one another. Also by the lake stood a confused and terrified-looking poochyena. Its ears were flattened, eyes widened and its tail stood straight up as it stared at the lake in front of it.

James wagged his tail and howled in glee. "JESSIE!" he barked again.

Much to his surprise, the poochyena stared at him and growled. It then approached at top speed and tackled him to the ground, its fangs glistening as they neared his throat. "Get away!" it warned, and now James could tell for sure it was Jessie's voice, "Get away or I will break your neck!"

James trembled from underneath. "No, Jessie! It's just me--James! Please, don't break my neck!" he cried, struggling to regain his footing.

The poochyena stopped attacking and blinked at him through sapphire eyes. "James?" she asked, just to be sure. "Is that really you?"

"Yeah, it's me! Is it really you?" he repeated.

"Of course it's me. Now get up." she ordered, getting off of him. James scrambled back up, quite embarrassed from the sudden attack.

"Wow, I can't believe I found you." James breathed, obviously very relieved. "This has got to be the scariest dream I ever had! If it _is _a dream..."

"James, don't be silly." Jessie scolded. "This is definitely a dream. What, do you think metamorphosis just happens like this every day?"

"Hm, well, I dunno. But it feels so real." James protested. "I mean...I mean...it's kinda hard to explain."

"What?"

"Look at this." he said. He stuck his paw down into the invisible pocket in his skin and pulled out an assortment of bottlecaps and trading cards.

"Ew, James! That's gross!" Jessie growled.

"But if this were a dream, do you think I would be able to do that?" he inquired.

"Probably. Dreams are always like that."

"Well, how would we be able to tell a dream from reality?"

Jessie laughed. "Are you kidding? If we were in reality, I wouldn't wake up when I do..._this_!" She pinched herself on the flank. Nothing happened.

Jessie started to sweat anxiously. "Okey, let's try that again." She held up her paw. "Huzzah!" She pinched herself again. Nothing happened.

James was also nervous but somehow found the words to speak. "Suppose this is real?"

Jessie looked at him in astonishment. "It's not real! It can't be!" She began slapping herself on the face. "Wakeup! Wakeup! WAKEUP!" James watched in horror as Jessie began hurting herself in ways unimaginable in urgent attempt to wake up. She even used her own paper fan and mallet. That's when he knew how serious the situation was getting.

"Ja-Jessie..." he stammered, deciding to step in. "I don't think it's working..."

Jessie finally came to the fact that James was perhaps correct. Her eyes widened in terror. "OH NO! You mean, I'm stuck in this horribly menacing, hideous form?!" she panicked. She ran back up to the lake and stared at the poochyena in her reflection. "NOOOOO! This can't be happening! Where has my beautiful body gone?! WHERE?!" She slumped down and caught her breath, tired from all the shouting and running around. She frowned down at the image in the water and growled softly just as a shinx's reflection appeared next to it.

"You know..." spoke James in an effort to cheer her up, "I think we're kinda cute."

Jessie snorted in disgust. "No James, that isn't good." she replied as she got up on her paws. "We're Team Rocket. Cute and fluffy just isn't gonna make the cut. No. Cute and fluffy is bad. We are now small, helpless creatures. We can never steal Pikachu now." She slumped down once more.

James wasn't so sure. "I guess, but...Meowth's cute and fluffy, small and helpless. He helps us steal Pikachu just fine."

Jessie's ears pricked. "Meowth." she repeated. "Speaking of which, where is that annoying talking feline?" Both of them looked around but he wasn't there, either.

"I don't think he's here." stated James, the obvious.

"Does it _look _like it?" asked Jessie. She slanted her eyes and looked again. "He probably woke up further away from us...he can't be too far."

"So, do you think we should go searching for him?"

"Well, I don't see a better solution." Jessie replied, rolling her eyes. "I mean, it's easy. We'll just sniff him out, locate him, then figure out a way to get us back to normal. I can't stand this nonsense! And just look at my short, stumpy legs! What good are these?"

James looked at his own legs. "Mine are short and stumpy, too." he observed. "But at least now we have four instead of two."

"Yeah." Jessie snorted sarcastically. "And we don't have any hands because of it."

"You're right, but...well, it's not _that _bad." James admitted with a shrug. "I mean, you're freaking out like it's the end of the millennium. Just relax. We can get through this, just like we always do."

"James, it's impossible for me to relax!" Jessie barked, "I can't operate inside a hideous body like **this**! Gee, didn't you hear me before? Or are your ears to big for your head?!"

James gasped at the insult. "You take that back! At least my nose isn't PINK!" he snapped.

"Uhhh, yes it is."

"Yeah, well, not as pink as _yours!_"

"So what?" Jessie countered. "It's still just as ugly. Probably uglier! And what the heck is wrong with your pupils? At least mine look normal!"

"There is nothing wrong with my pupils!" James growled. "They're supposed to look that way! Besides, you're...you're..." he sighed . "Listen, let's not fight, okay? I don't like this too much either, and I want to be human just as much as the next transformed guy...but fighting is only going to make it worse, isn't it?"

Jessie blinked at him. "Fine. You might be right for once." she replied stubbornly. "I don't really want to fight with you, either. Your argument skills are truly lacking--even an idiot would be able to tell that."

"Or a twerp." James chuckled.

"The twerps..." Jessie mumbled. "I bet they were the ones behind this."

"You really think they would do this to us?" asked James. "I mean, we've never cut slack on them, but that Ash twerp is different. He wouldn't just come out of the blue to pull off something this huge. He has more important things to do."

"You never know, James. Seriously, who else could it be?" Jessie inquired.

"You have a point." he admitted, "but I guess it doesn't really matter right now. The longer we stand around here talking, the longer Meowth will be out there all by himself. Without us."

"Of course," she replied. "That's why we're looking for him right now." She nudged his cheek. "Now come on, stop messing around already. Follow me, and keep your nose up."

James didn't argue against this and obeyed on command, sniffing the air to see if he could find Meowth's trail. If he could do it for Jessie, he could do it again. He stayed right behind Jessie's tail, who was also examining the air for anything pertaining to Meowth. All eight paws paced together as they walked, almost perfectly in sync. Then Jessie stopped, and James, naturally, tumbled right into her.

"Hold it. I think I've got something on the radar." she said. She pointed her muzzle to the ground and inhaled the scent. James shook himself off and joined in. It didn't take him long to find the same sweet scent that Jessie was tracking.

"Wow, that smells good. Do you really think it could be Meowth?" asked James. " I mean, I've never really seen him bathe before."

Jessie wasn't listening, as she was too busy sniffing as not to lose the aroma. She lifted her head and smiled. Then she took off without warning and James had no choice but to follow suit.

"Hey, wait up!" he called after her.

Both of them ran on for a while with Jessie guiding gracefully through the trees, bushes and other obstacles in the forest. James clumsily tripped over four logs, bumped his head on three trees and got his face stuck in a spinark's web. Despite this, he managed to fall over right where Jessie had stopped for a second time. He got up and shook the leaves, grass and webbing off his face, panting as he tried to catch his breath from the incident.

Jessie couldn't help but laugh at his stupidity. She smirked as he finally got back up on all four of his feet. "If you'd stop tripping yourself over for once, you would have noticed I've found the source of the smell." she exclaimed proudly.

James turned his head around to see what it was. Right in front of their eyes, there was a small stick with two round, blue berries hanging limply from it. All out in the wide open. Free for anybody.

"But Jess, that isn't Meowth." whined James. "That's...food." His stomach grumbled and as he looked back up at the berries, he began to salivate as well.

"That's right, oh Wise One." she replied sarcastically with another laugh. "Searching is almost impossible on an empty stomach. And I'm not about to try!"

"Me neither!" agreed James, and the two of them lunged forward to the berries, opening their jaws and snapping on empty air. Both of them sat up, puzzled.

"Hey, what's the big idea?" demanded Jessie.

"They were just here a second ago!" cried James.

Both of them started darting around frantically when they heard a cackling voice from above. They looked up to see a laughing pidgey hovering above them with the twig of berries in his talons. "Yoo-hoo! Up here, ya fleabags!" he teased.

Jessie growled. "Why don't you just say that to my face, moron?!"

"Yeah, those are ours. We found them first!" James added. "Now give 'em back!"

The pidgey smirked. "You want 'em?" he repeated. "Try me. No one's stopping you." He swerved in the air, still cackling like mad.

"Come down here so I can tear your beak off!" Jessie threatened. She jumped up at the pidgey and tried to grab the berries but the bird dodged the blow and pecked down on her head. The pidgey laughed at her weak attempt, and Jessie turned to James in irritation. "Help me out, would'ya?!"

James nodded quickly, too engrossed in the scenario to do anything about it. He stepped in and yelled, "Hey! Don't you dare hurt Jessie like that! She's only trying to get back what's rightfully hers!" He also leaped up at the bully but, like Jessie, got a bad pecking job on his own head and fell back to the ground, rubbing his sore cranium.

"Heh! How pathetic are you guys?" mocked the pidgey, still flying above them with the berries clutched tightly beneath him. "When I first saw you, I knew you were weak, but not _this _weak!"

Jessie was becoming very frustrated at the insults. "You better stop this right now, or I will literally rip apart your hot flesh!" she fumed. "And that's no joke!"

"Y-yeah! You'll get hurt really bad!" James warned, at a short loss for decent words. He and Jessie got up on their hind legs and clawed at the beast, but the stupid thing kept dodging and flying down to peck at their heads. No insult, no matter how gruesome, seemed to be working on the annoying talking bird.

"Ha! What's the matter, pea-brains? Too dumb to realise you just got owned by a bird half your size?!" the pidgey laughed, continuing to tease them cruelly as he lowered the berries in front of their noses and pulled them away before they could snap them up.

Jessie and James were getting tired and sick of being fooled by the bird's nasty tricks. They took a few more unsuccessful attempts at snatching up the berries when all of a sudden, a flamethrower came from seemingly out of nowhere, plummeting into the pidgey at full force. Both shinx and poochyena stared in disbelief as they saw the flames pierce at the pidgey's body. When the attack was over, the scorched bird blinked stupidly, screamed in terror and flew off, dropping the burnt berries near Jessie and James's feet.

"Wha--what was_ that_?!" asked James, too terrified to approach the berries. A shadow lurked from behind the trees and it looked like it was about to advance on them.

"He's coming for us!" Jessie warned. "He's going to fry us!"

"But I don't want to go blasting off again!" James wailed.

The shadow began to approach on both frightened pokemon. Jessie and James held onto each other for comfort and screamed in horror. They were still in the same screaming position when the owner of the shadow walked up to them. The pokemon sweatdropped as he saw this. "H-hey. Calm down, you two. I'm not here to hurt you."

Jessie and James continued to scream for a couple more seconds when they finally realised they weren't in danger and they stopped and looked at each other.

"What did he say?" asked James, just to be sure.

The pokemon smirked. "I said I'm not gonna hurt you. Gee, you guys look like you've seen a ghost or something. Am I really that scary?"

Jessie and James looked at each other once more before looking back at the questioning pokemon. They both nodded. "YES!" they answered.

The pokemon, a quilava by the looks of it, was still smiling at them. He was wearing what looked to be a necklace with a rock tied to the end of it. "Well, sorry about that. I was only trying to help. Some of the pidgey in this forest can be pretty mean, I've learned from experience." He laughed. "By the way, have I introduced myself yet? My name is Clifton, but you can just call me Cliff. What are your names?"

Jessie and James looked at each other for a third time before letting go of each other, embarrassed over the whole thing. "Well, my name's Jessie." the poochyena replied. "And that scaredy-chicken over there is my friend James." She gestured.

"Hey! You were just as scared as I was!" he argued.

"Hm, Jessie and James...that sounds like it could be the name of an old western outlaw." the quilava pondered.

"What?" asked James, confused.

"Ah, nevermind." said Cliff. "Anyway, what are you doing here in the forest? Not on a rescue mission, I can imagine."

"A rescue mission?" inquired Jessie. "What are you talking about?"

"You don't know what a rescue team is? Well," started Cliff, "a rescue team is a group of two or more pokemon who go to dungeons to rescue pokemon in danger. Pretty much all the pokemon here know about them. Say..." he eyed both of them suspiciously. "I was watching you two for a while there. You aren't really pokemon, are you?"

Jessie and James were shocked. "Well...no, we aren't." replied James. "But how could you tell?"

Cliff smirked at them again. "Your actions pretty much gave it away. I saw you guys freaking out over by the lake. Then of course...the way you are standing..."

Jessie and James looked at themselves and noticed they were both standing on their hind legs. They quickly slumped down so they wouldn't look so abnormal. "So what?" asked Jessie.

"Well, isn't it obvious? You guys are..." he lowered his voice and looked to see if anyone else was listening. "You guys are human, right?"

James was a bit surprised by the tone of his voice. "Is that a bad thing?"

"Oh, not at all!" Cliff exclaimed, not wanting to give the wrong message. "It's just that...it would be bad to let rumor fall onto the wrong ears. Boy are you two lucky you found ol' Cliff. I can keep your secret safe, trust me."

Jessie and James looked worried, but what could they do about it, really? Cliff already knew they were human anyway, so it's not like they could just choose to trust him. And wouldn't another pokemon notice their strange behaviours and find out using that information? Even though the idea struck them as odd, Jessie and James decided to put their trust on the quilava with the black necklace.

"Alright. We trust you." Jessie said, a bit reluctantly. She looked down at the burnt berries and sighed. "Looks like we're gonna have to go hungry again, though." she growled in disappointment.

"Oh, not to worry! Please." Cliff pleaded. "I have a lot more fresh ones back at home. If you guys are staying with me, you might as well be eating with me too."

James liked the sound of this. He licked his chops. "Yum! That would be really nice, thanks! But who said we were staying with you?" he questioned.

"Well...if you two just got here, you obviously don't really have a place to stay, now do you?" Cliff answered.

"Wow, this guy is smart." James exclaimed in awe.

"But how do we know this isn't a big trap?" asked Jessie suspiciously as she eyed the mysterious quilava.

"Hey, you already said you'd trust me. Just relax." he said. "Besides, life's been lonely over the months. It'd be darn great to have company again, ya know. I'm just so glad I found you before somebody else did. Now, come on--" He turned to the right. "Let's go home now, and get something good and fresh to eat, why don't we?"

James wagged his tail. "My pleasure!" he squealed excitedly, bounding right behind Cliff, ready to go.

"Jessie, you coming?" asked Cliff.

The poochyena still looked a bit suspicious. "Yeah. I'm comin'." she replied. She walked up alongside James as they followed the quilava to his home.

"James..." she whispered hesitantly, so Cliff wouldn't hear. "Do you really think we should trust this guy? I mean, we hardly even know him. And did you see the power of his flamethrower? I think this Cliff dude could be dangerous. We have to be careful."

James shrugged. "Well," he whispered back, "he's giving us a place to sleep and eat. I think that's trustworthy enough."

"I dunno, you can never be too sure." Jessie warned. "Besides, what are we going to do about Meowth? He's probably still lost out there somewhere."

"Yeah, I know..." James trailed. "But maybe Cliff can help find him. It doesn't hurt to ask."

Jessie glanced over at the quilava, who stopped to wait for them to catch up. "Come on, guys! At this pace, we might not get home 'til late!" he laughed.

Jessie sighed. "Well, it doesn't hurt to take chances, I guess." And with that decided, she and James ran up to the quilava, eager to get something good to eat. Maybe Cliff really was a lucky thing to happen to them...after all, he seemed nice and willing to help hide their identity. Everything looked like perhaps, it was going to be okay.

But where was Meowth?

_Sorry about not having Meowth in this chapter...surprisingly, it was getting too long to fit him in! The next chapter will most like be Meowth-centric though, so not to worry. Oh yeah, and don't forget to review, if you don't mind. XD_


	3. The Pokemon HQ

**Disclaimer of Doom: Almost a week until the release of Mystery Dungeon 2: Time and Darkness Exploration Team!**

_You know I'm excited, and I bet a lot of you are, too. You know, I haven't even noticed March--and now April--flying right past before my eyes. Time must finally be on my side! Anyway, this rambling doesn't appear to be getting me anywhere, so here's our next chapter. This time we're gonna catch up with Meowth (yay!). This is the part where you cheer manically and applaud in wild amusement. ;)_

...

The sound of giggling awoke Meowth from his sleep. He twitched his ears at the noise and mumbled, not quite ready to get up. "Please, just five more minutes. Do ya mind?" he asked, curling his tail back around himself in attempt to get back to bed. He smacked his lips and yawned, almost asleep when he heard the giggles again.

"Come on guys, let a cat get his beauty rest. Is it really to much ta ask?" he grumbled, squinting his eyes tighter and wrapping his tail even farther around his body. The giggling came a third time, and Meowth found they were starting to annoy the living daylights out of him.

"HEY!" he growled, snapping awake. "What's da big idea?...hoih?" He blinked as he saw two red, triangle eyes staring down at him. "GAAAH!" he screamed in fright, backing away. "I didn't do it officer, I swear!"

The owner of the eyes, an ivysaur, cocked her head in confusion. "What do you mean?" she inquired.

"Oh, sorry. Must'a had a bad dream or somethin'." Meowth muttered, managing to catch his breath. He got up and shook himself off. He licked his paw, wiping it up over his head in a cat-like fashion to keep the fur from going in his eyes. He started to then work the arm itself, all the way up to the mid-elbow when he heard the same familiar giggles and flinched. He turned around to see the ivysaur staring at him, unblinking, with much interest.

"Hey, do ya mind? I'm tryin' ta do personal business over here!" he stifled.

"Sorry. It's just that...you're finally awake." She couldn't manage but smile largely as the cat gawked at her with a lost expression in his face.

"And you care..._why_?" he asked. "I mean, I don't even know ya. Go back to your trainer or whatever, but I've got my own problems ta deal with at da moment."

The ivysaur just continued smiling. She happened to know a lot more than Meowth when it came to what was happening. "They told me you'd be like this. What is that world like, Meowth? You know...with humans. I was told you were friends with them?"

Meowth didn't answer. His eyes just opened a bit wider as he came to a sudden realisation. "Ya know my name?" He blinked stupidly. "Oh yeah, dat's right. Dat's da name of my species. Of course you'd know, I guess." He got up and wiped himself off again, as if every time he came in contact with the floor, it somehow made him hopelessly dirty.

The ivysaur looked at Meowth with inspiration in her eyes. The way he got up, standing on two legs like that...it gave her a certain admiration. "I like you already, Meowth." she spoke, her grin growing even bigger. "My name's Flower, by the way. And as you can tell by the looks, I'm an invysaur, the evolved form of the grass type, bulbasaur." She gestured toward the budding flower on her back. "I can't wait until the day I evolve into venusaur. Then I'll have the most beautiful flower in the world right here on my back, and I'll definitely be living up to my name." She chuckled at this. "So, Meowth, have you ever thought about evolving into persian?"

Meowth gave a disgusted face at this. "Piosian? Ya gotta be kiddin' me. I'd much rather evolve into a big, ugly weezin' den THAT...any day!" The mention of Weezing got Meowth thinking about Jessie and James. Meowth looked around a couple times to find that they were nowhere to be found. Where were they? Wait, even better question...where was _he_?

The cat took a couple seconds to let the new environment sink in. Apparently, he didn't seem to be outside anymore. He was in a building of some sort. The walls and floor all around were completely gray and dull, and the very room in which he was standing was no bigger than a small classroom. Apart from him and the female ivysaur, it looked as if they were alone. No sound filtered from out of the window on the wall, where a couple bird pokemon flew past by. It was just the two of them, in a place Meowth did not recognise.

"Hey, dis isn't making sense..." Meowth trembled, beginning to freak out. He backed up against the wall. "Where are my friends? What happened to 'em? What happened to _me_? Where am I? Will I ever get outta here? Why is it so quiet?! Why--" He was automatically silenced as a green-blue paw covered gently over his mouth to relax him.

"It's OK, Meowth..." she comforted softly. "You're alright, just calm down. The others told me you would be like this when you woke up. Don't worry--all your questions will be answered shortly. There is no need to fear." Meowth sighed. There was no way he couldn't bring himself to trust eyes like hers, and as he was told, he relaxed and sat down to think it over. Flower relaxed too, sitting not too far from the cat.

"But I don't understand." he whined. "One minute I was just with my friends, and den da next I'm in some kinda place I don't even know, with a talkin' pokemon I don't know either." He looked up at Flower. "And what do ya mean by _da others_? You mean we're not da only ones here? Dere are others?"

Flower laughed softly. "Let me explain." she started. "Meowth, you were asked to come on a mission by a pokemon named Gardevoir. She came to you last night, and you gave a promise that you would leave your friends to come help save our world. I was told that in your world, Meowth, you had taught yourself how to speak English, though the majority of pokemon there do not acquire that skill. Here, however, in this world, all pokemon can speak English." She stopped. "Well, all except for wobuffet. For some reason, they do not have the ability to speak like we do. In fact, it's one of the current experiments we're conducting here at the HQ."

Meowth blinked, trying to take in all the foreign information. "Da HQ?"

"Yeah, headquarters." she nodded. "This is where me and the other high ranked rescue teams work with other rescue teams worldwide. We also have a lab, where we do experiments so we can figure out what's better for the pokemon in our community." Flower caught her breath, obviously tired of all the boring explanations. "Since you just woke up, I guess I can finally show you around, I mean, if you want."

"Well, sure...nuthin' much else for me to do." Meowth replied with a shrug. "But ya gots ta tell me more about what's happenin'. You said I had to come here to save a different world, so ya brought me to that world, and now my two best friends are still back in da other world?" He scratched his head in confusion.

"It would appear so..." she trailed. "But I was not the one who brought you here. I'm not psychic like that, see? It was Gardevoir, like I told you before."

"Gardevoir..." breathed Meowth. When he really got to thinking about it, he did sort of remember meeting up with a pokemon with that name not too long ago. But anything else in the course of events of the day seemed to drop out of his mind. "Flower?" he asked. The ivysaur turned her head to him and he continued. "Could ya tell me why I don't remember anyting about yesterday? I mean...I don't even remember what I ate fer lunch. Was it wild mushrooms or an old rotten hamburger?"

Flower giggled. "Oh Meowth. It's only side effect Gardevoir has of teleporting somebody to another world. You should be glad...she's been working on perfecting that move for a long time. The last time she brought someone here, that person forgot pretty much all the traces of his past. At least your amnesia doesn't seem all too bad."

"Yeah, I wouldn't know what I would do if I forgot about my friends, and Team Rocket, and my life..." he wondered out loud, in awe. He looked towards Flower and she smiled, something Meowth found that she did quite an awful lot. "Anyway, sorry for all my yammerin'. My friends always said I had a big mouth. Weren't ya gonna show me around da HQ?"

"Oh, well, yes." she replied, pawing at the door and opening it a crack. "But I don't mind if you keep talking. It's actually kinda interesting listening to a guy that's been somewhere I couldn't even imagine. And humans--I've always wondered what they looked like."

It was Meowth's turn to smile, his lips curling up into a feline face. "I could talk about it all day," he bragged. "And I would, but I tink I have more questions dat I want some answerin' to."

...

"So, what's dis room called?" asked Meowth, after he followed Flower into on of the many doors in the never-ending hallway. In the room, there were papers scattered all over the floor and tables. Newspaper ads and educational books lay cluttered in the most random of places.

"Why, this is the conference room." Flower replied. "Here is where many of the pokemon talk and discuss important matters and what experiments we might want to start taking into our paws. We like to call it the Idea Factory, as it's where all our ideas come to be. Every scientific hypothesis and theory is born in this very room. Kind cool, isn't it Meowth?"

Meowth picked up a newspaper and held it in front of his face. He scanned a couple headlines.

"**Why Slowpokes are so Slow****, by Slowbro**", "**New Restaurant Being Built: A Miltank's Opinion on Issue of Hamburgers****, by Houndoom**", "**Musically Talented Raichu Starting his own Private Violin Lessons****, by Clefairy**".

Meowth was in shock. There was even a weather forecast, done by a castform itself. He noticed Flower was looking over his shoulder, and he put the newspaper down.

"Surprised?" she asked. "I bet the newspapers from where you live are written by humans."

"Why...why, uh, yes. Yes, they are." Meowth managed to speak. He picked up the newspaper and shook it around a little in front of the ivysaur. "But dis paper here is written by a bunch of pokemon. I just can't believe it! It's like pokemon completely take charge of dis place!" He couldn't help laughing in joy as he looked back at it, but it slowly began to fade away, as his thoughts went to something else.

Flower looked to him in confusion. "Is something wrong, Meowth?" she asked.

Meowth's mouth managed to curl up in a weak smile. "Oh, I'm fine. Just tinking about my two human friends, back at home. Dey probably woke up already, and dere's no doubt dey're lookin' for me...dey must be really worried. Boy, I knew I should'a told 'em I was gonna leave..."

Flower, for the first time, did not smile when she looked down at her paws. "I'm very sorry, Meowth. They must mean an awful lot to you, huh? If it were up to me, I'd let you leave right here, right now. But unfortunately, it is not up to me. It is up to the others, who are ranked higher than me...and they think that you're the so-called _Stronger One_, that only you--nobody else--can save us from the havoc of this world. Oh Meowth...I wish they wouldn't just force you to do this...I feel so bad..."

Meowth was torn seeing the ivysaur, who looked like she was about to hit a sudden emotional breakdown. "Aw, you don't hafta worry about me." Meowth assured her. "I miss my friends and all, but if dere are pokemon here askin' for my help, I tink I feel obligated to do so. Besides, I wasn't forced, Flower, you told me dat I made a promise ta go on dis mission. I'm here on my own account."

Flower smiled again, looking at him.

"Now, could ya be a dear and show me more around dis place?" asked Meowth, a welcoming comment, he was sure.

The ivysaur brightened at Meowth's willingness of acceptance. "Glad you asked. Race ya to the cafeteria!" She laughed, running out of the room.

"HEY!" Meowth barked, running after her. "Wait for me, I don't even know where dis cafeteria place is!" He tried chasing the grass type on his two legs, but found he wasn't fast enough as he would be if he ran on four. He knew it would be easy to just get down on all fours and catch her, but it just felt right to run like a two-legged, in a way.

"Ha! How ya gonna catch me with only two legs, Stronger One?" she teased, running ahead.

"Dat's not funny!" he retorted, tripping over his wobbly legs as he flew towards the ivysaur. She was looking back at him, watching him get farther and farther away. She chuckled to herself as he tripped again, trying to get up. She kept keeping her eyes on him when she bumped into something, knocking her over senseless. She quickly scrambled back to her feet and regained her breath, when she felt two paws grab onto her side.

"Gotcha!" growled the mischievous feline proudly as he finally reached his goal. "I'm Top Cat around dis place and dere ain't no way I'm losin' to a child's game like dis! For I am da Stronger One, da kitty who's gonna save dis world from all da mishaps and wrong doings. I am Meowth, hear me roar!" He then began yowling in triumph, dancing around Flower when he accidentally tripped again over his legs. _Why do I keep tripping like this?, _he thought embarrassedly, looking up at the shadow hovering above him.

Eyes slanted down at him, a bit humored by his actions. "So, you're the _Stronger One_?" the figure smiled, letting a laugh escape his lips. Meowth got up awkwardly, staring at the pokemon above him. Great, his first day in this new world and he was already humiliating himself in public.

"Whatever Char, it's not like you trip every once in a while." Flower exclaimed sarcastically, rolling her eyes.

"Hoih? Who's dat?" asked Meowth.

"I'm Charizard, you silly." laughed the pokemon, lifting his large wings, making Meowth jump. "You slept in pretty long but that was expected. Gardevoir warned us you were gonna be a sleepy head."

Flower muttered something to herself and turned back to the duo. "Meowth, Charizard. Charizard, Meowth." she introduced, then in a whisper to the cat, she said, "He can get kinda annoying at times, but don't sweat it..."

Charizard was still smiling down at the feline, then called from behind him. "Hey, Tyranitar, come over here. The kid's awake."

Meowth felt the floor shake and he grasped the floor, positive there was going to be an earthquake. Instead, and much to his surprise, another large pokemon came out from behind Charizard. He looked rock hard and covered in spikes. He held his paw out to Meowth. "My name's Tyranitar, how do you do?"

Meowth felt himself be shook up and down in the air due to the force of the handshake. "Heh, and I'm Meowth! Dat's right!"

"Ha, he's such a puny thing, isn't he Tyranitar?" Charizard asked his buddy as he placed the scratch cat pokemon back onto the ground.

"Yeah, hard to believe this is the one Alakazam and Gardevoir have been gabberin' on and on about." Tyranitar said. He shrugged. "Eh, but I guess size doesn't matter. The two souls who got mixed up into the Ninetales Legend, about a year ago, taught us that valuable lesson."

"Ninetales Legend?" asked Meowth, a puzzled look on his face.

Charizard and Tyranitar smiled. "He don't have a clue, does he?" smirked the Charizard. Tyranitar reached over and pounded the dragon-like pokemon on his head.

"OW!"

"Charizard, stop bein' rude, for Pete's sake." his friend ordered. "This guy came from the _other _world. I mean, what do you expect? An intellectual genius?" He turned back to Meowth. "Sorry about Char here. His manners aren't always the best at times, especially around visitors..."

"Ah, dat's okay. I don't mind too much." Meowth replied, trying his best to agree with the large pokemon. Something this strong-looking could topple him over with a simple tackle, and he didn't want to risk that happening.

Flower smiled at Meowth. "Hey, I bet the other's are just dying to meet you. Everyone has been waiting for you to wake up and we've all been really excited. Especially Ralts--oh, he's so cute! He's already met you, but I doubt you remember him...you know, since you lost your memories from yesterday."

"Heh...yeah. You know dat's right." he chuckled.

Tyranitar nodded. "Yes, we must inform Alakazam and Calix right away. They're waiting over in the cafeteria."

"We were just heading there ourselves!" Flower exclaimed to the coincidence. "I was giving Meowth a little tour and I was thinking I would get him a snack, or something of the sorts."

"Snack? Sure thing. You are hungry Meowth, right?" asked Tyranitar.

Meowth's stomach grumbled, as if on cue and he rubbed it, laughing softly. "Am I ever!"

Charizard grinned. "First day meetin' ya and we've already got something in common." He lifted his head, gave a mighty roar and flapped his wings. Meowth fell off balance due to the wind level. "What are we waiting for? I'm getting hungrier as we speak! Let's go already!"

"Calm down, Char. We'll get there, but at least give the kid a chance to get back on his feet." Tyranitar smirked, touching the dragon's shoulder.

"Awww...you're never any fun." Charizard grumbled as the four of them took off slowly down the hall. Meowth took this time for another environmental check. The hallway was still the same gray colour and more and more doors lined both walls from which the pokemon were between. But here there were also pictures next to the doors. They were pictures of, as Meowth guessed, pokemon that worked at the HQ. Various snapshots showed these pokemon holding up potions and chemicals. They were wearing safety goggles and lab coats to protect themselves from the hazardous liquids. Other pictures also showed HQ pokemon with weird machines, experiments and robots. _Wow, dey all look so happy, _he found himself thinking. _It reminds me of da times James and I used ta build all dose robots to try ta catch Pikachu. Den Jessie would always be dere, yellin' at us to hurry up with da ting. We'd question her why she wasn't helpin', and she'd always defend herself by sayin' she was makin' up some kinda plan. Ahhh...dose where da days, though. I kinda miss workin' my paws off at all dose failed machines...but den again, I was with my friends. Maybe I'll make good friends with Flower and da other pokemon here at da HQ. Dey seem friendly enough...but do I really belong here, with a buncha scientists? Will I be able to save dis world? Oh...I sure hope I can..._

Meowth was still lost in his thoughts when his walking was stopped by what seemed to be a blockage in his path. He looked up and the Tyranitar, in which he had bumped into, stared right back down at him.

"We're here." he announced.

"FINALLY!" yelled Charizard in triumph. He flew into the cafeteria, probably heading off towards a food banquet or snack machine.

Flower laughed, and Meowth, as if his lonely thoughts just floated out of his head, decided to join in. "Same old Char..." the ivysaur proclaimed.

"Ya know, I'm pretty famished myself. Bein' da _Stronger One _sure is hard work, and it really works up an appetite." He patted his empty belly. Hunger ate away at his body as he followed Tyranitar and Flower into the cafeteria. As soon as they entered the room, Tyranitar clicked down a button on some kind of gadget and the doors behind them closed. Meowth jumped.

"Whoa! Dat was amazin'! How'd ya do it?" inquired Meowth.

"Eh, just a amateur piece of junk." he shrugged, putting the metal thing into his non-existent pocket.

_Amateur?, _thought Meowth, shocked. _Dat ting ain't amateur. In fact, it's better dan some of da machines me and da team have built ourselves! If dis is just a piece 'a junk ta him, I wonder what deir GOOD experiments are like? It hurts my head ta think about it!_

"Hey!" Flower called, snapping Meowth out of dreamland once again. "Hey, everyone! He's awake! Meowth is awake!"

Meowth looked up, only to see a bunch of pokemon from far off perk up their ears and turn their attention towards the trio. It only took one glance and all the pokemon went running to him in delight. Meowth was actually a bit terrified, seeing as the pokemon were charging straight for him, but he managed to stand his ground.

"Oh, it's a miracle!"

"The _Stronger One_! This is him?"

"Yes, of course it's him! I'd know a hero when I see one!"

"This is very exciting! I want an autograph!"

"Stand back, I got to him first!"

"HEY, GUYS! Cool your jets! Sheesh!" came a dark voice, and all the pokemon peeled apart from Meowth. The cat looked up to see where the talking had come from. A lucario--the aura pokemon, if Meowth remembered correctly--walked up to him and looked him over.

"So, kid, it's great you could finally join us." he spoke. His voice was very deep, but it had a soothing nature to it as well, one that assured Meowth that wasn't there for violence or aggression.

"Yes," came another voice, one that sounded very much like the lucario's, only it wasn't quite as deep and sounded a little more wise. An alakazam appeared over the tiny cat, getting a strong gaze locked on the cat's eyes. "Finally, he is here. We've been waiting for quite some time..."

"Heh...what do ya want from me?" asked Meowth, a bit terrified of the two of them towering above him.

The psychic pokemon just smiled. "Meowth, there's no need to be afraid of us. You're our friend. I'm Alakazam," he gestured towards the fighting and steel type. "And his name is Calix--he's a lucario."

Calix, the lucario, nodded his approval. "That's my name."

Alakazam went on. "I am the leader of Rescue Team ACT, along with my partners Charizard and Tyranitar--whom I'm guessing you've already met. We're the lead scientists here at the HQ, with the help of the other teams."

"Yeah, like my rescue team, Team Hydro." a blastoise added from next to a feraligatr and swampert. Meowth waved at them when he heard a voice from behind and turned around.

"And we're Team Constrictor!" said the voice, an octillery. A tentacruel and cradily were by her side. Meowth waved to them as well.

"Team Shiftry." A shiftry and two nuzleafs.

"Team Rumblerock." A golem and two gravlerocks.

The number of pokemon seemed to have multiplied. Meowth had started to sweat as three, four, then five rescue teams introduced themselves. He wiped his forehead, thinking he was finally done when someone else came up to him.

"And I'm not part of a rescue team--no, not anymore--but I'm Gengar. Well, actually...call me Dameon. I'm a friend of Gardevoir's." A gengar had stepped out from seemingly nowhere, and was looking down at Meowth with a toothy Cheshire Cat smile.

Gardevoir appeared next to him, along with a tiny ralts and a pokemon Meowth had never seen before. "Yup, Dameon's my best friend. One day I woke up, with no memories of my past...and I that's when I met him. He's such a sweetheart." Gardevior noticed Meowth was blinking in confusion and she grinned, pointing to the two other pokemon next to her. "I introduced myself before, but you probably don't remember. This is Ralts, my son...and my husband, Gallade."

"Hey." Gallade swished what looked like a sword at his side. He looked a lot like Gardevoir, except instead of what seemed to be a dress, he had two stable legs and a different hairsytle...if it _was_ hair in the first place--Meowth wasn't too sure.

The cat laughed and rubbed his head, overwhelmed by the many intros. "How am I supposed ta remember all dese names?" he chuckled.

"Most likely, you won't." replied Alakazam. "You won't be hanging around here too long. This is only your pre-destination before you head off on your mission."

"So...ya mean I'm just gonna go...alone?" gulped Meowth. Sure, he knew he was supposed to do a mission. He had missions all the time in Team Rocket and it wasn't much of a big deal, but that's because he had Jessie and James to help him. Meowth was aware he was their chosen hero, but would he really have to do it _alone_?

"No. You will be staying with me, Meowth." answered Calix. "You and I will form a rescue alliance. I will also help you train and get yourself ready for your adventure beforehand. Just think of me as your personal trainer and acquaintance."

"Oh," said Meowth. "So...when are we leavin'?"

"Whatever time you feel is best for you. You will be trained until you feel you are ready. But stalling time would be unacceptable at this point--so hold it off only if you think you need more time to train. There's a disaster reeking havoc on this world and we need to be quick-paced in all we do."

Meowth scratched his chin. "So tell me again," he pleaded, "Me and you are da only ones goin' on dis little mission, I'm guessin'?"

Calix didn't need long to think over the question. "Actually, Team ACT will also be coming to help out, only they'll be taking a separate path than us. Some of the rescue teams here will depart for Town Square, and others still will stay here at the lab and continue with the scientific experiments."

Meowth finally noticed Flower, the ivysaur sitting by his side. She was looking down at her paws sadly, as if she didn't want Meowth to go. Her expression was all too clear that she had already made good friends with the cat and did not wish for him to leave.

"What about Flower? Doesn't she have a rescue team?" asked Meowth.

Calix opened his mouth to speak, but Alakazam cut in before the lucario could say a word. "Flower really doesn't like to talk about the subject. Every time we've tried to ask her, the silence in the room would become overwhelming. So I'm guessing she's been a loner, or maybe she became separated from her team--like what happened to Calix."

"Calix? You used to be a part of a rescue team?" Meowth questioned.

Calix looked away. "I don't want to talk about it." he growled briefly.

"Oh...I'm sorry. I didn't mean ta offend you or anyting." Meowth apologised. "I mean...I just kinda wanted ta know, dat's all." Meowth looked back to his ivysaur friend. "Do you not like ta talking about it eitha?"

The ivysaur looked back up at him and stated something completely off subject. "Meowth, please, don't leave." she pleaded, looking into his eyes. "I know it's been a short time since we've met, but I can already tell you're a really good friend. You just can't leave..."

Tyranitar finally spoke up, as he and the other pokemon had been letting Alakazam and Calix answer all Meowth's questions for the time being. "Flower, don't you remember what Alakazam said? Meowth can't just stay here. He has to go save the world--that's his mission."

"Then at least...at least let me come too."

Everyone stared at the ivysaur with shocked looks on their faces, as if it was the silliest suggestion they had ever heard of. Meowth was confused by this--after all, it had seemed like a pretty good idea to him. He wondered why the others did not think the same.

"I tink dat would be nice." Meowth nodded. "She can come, can't she?"

"Well...uh...it's not _that_." Alakazam answered, a little speechless for the first time in a good while. "It's just that...well, I've never seen you fight before, Flower. I don't think you would be ready for something like this. And you're...pretty small in size. It could be dangerous."

Flower looked at him angrily. "Meowth's small in size too, and I bet you haven't even seen him fight before either! I don't care how dangerous it is...I just want to be with Meowth. Please--it's been so long that I've met someone like him. You have to let me come with him. Please." Her large red eyes proved irresistible yet again, and Alakazam cleared his throat.

"Well, I guess...if it's okay with Calix."

The lucario looked at Alakazam, then back at Meowth and Flower. After all that time that Flower had been so lonely and depressed, it just wouldn't be right to take away the only thing that seemed to make her happy. He sighed. "Yes, you may come. But you'll need training as well, so I do not expect any whining or complaining on your part." His eye flashed as he looked toward Meowth. "This means you too. Both of you have to work hard if you want to win this fight. The training will start early tomorrow morning, so today I would advise you rest up and get ready. Meet me outside the HQ--Flower should be able to escort you, Meowth. Until then..." He stood up and opened the door using the odd door-opening device. "farewell, trainees." Then with a swift movement, he exited.

Meowth blinked. "Why did he leave?"

Alakazam put his paw on Meowth's shoulder, spoon still in his fist. "Ah, he's just a bit restless. I supposed he's going to need his sleep if he's going to be working hard training the two of you."

"Oh...this is so great, Meowth!" Flower exclaimed, rubbing her face against him like a cat. "I can't believe Calix let me come with you guys! I promise I won't let you down!"

Alakazam smiled at the two of them. It really **had **been a long time since he'd seen Flower so excited and energetic. _Perhaps this was the best choice after all..., _he thought. He watched as the two of them ran around like children, chasing each other and laughing in enjoyment. _But they will need a lot of training before they head out...Calix--train them well._ Alakazam gestured towards Tyranitar and Charizard, and the three of them exited as well. Some of the other rescue teams split up and began talking amongst themselves again. When Meowth and Flower had all eyes off them, they stopped playing to catch their breath.

"So...would you like a little something to eat?" inquired the ivysaur, pointing off towards the vending machine in the back.

Meowth nodded. "Sure ting, Flower. Lead da way." Both friends went to get themselves a little snack, but Meowth's mind was still troubled with questions. Would he really be strong enough to do this mission? How was he going to tell Alakazam and Calix that he didn't know how to use any of his powers? Did Flower know how to use any powers? What about Jessie and James, would he ever get to see them again? Only time will tell...

_I was sorta running out of time to explain Meowth's mission, but it should be covered thoroughly in a later chapter. Yes, most of the pokemon in the HQ are characters from the game. The reason they now work at a lab as scientists shall also be explained in detail later. Anyway, remember to tell me how you liked (or...not liked) this chapter and you should be seeing from me again soon._


	4. A Quilava's Diary

**Disclaimer: I don't own squat. 'Nuff said.**

_Okey, erm, sorry it's been a while. My sister and I have been overly addicted with the new Mystery Dungeon games, and after getting the hideous pink skitty a million times on the quiz (no offense to skitty fans) I finally got meowth! Yes! Also, just to let you know, I might be adding a couple characters, dungeons and such from the second game, though there will be no real spoilers to the main plot. If there does happen to be, I'll be sure to warn you (which there most likely won't be, so no worries). There are also no exploration teams yet in this story--only rescue teams--just to clear that up; if you remember from the beginning that I said this story goes on between both plots of the games. Anywho, I finally managed to complete this chapter for ya, and I know you all have a lot of questions but I can't promise they'll all be answered soon. But, eventually, yes. So without further ado, I present to you...chapter four._

...

It was late afternoon. The quilava, poochyena and shinx had been traveling since breakfast, and though they kept walking and walking, the scenery around them never seemed to change much. And to make everything better, one of the pokemon in particular had found an annoying way to pass the time.

"Tree, tree, tree, shrub, log, bush, tree..."

"JAMES! Cut that our, would'ya?!" Jessie snapped.

"Sorr-_ee_! I just can't help it! It's just tree, after tree, after tree, after TREE!" he wailed, jerking his head back and forth after every "tree". "Isn't there anything more interesting in this forest? Speaking of which, I'm getting hungry again. Cliff, when are we gonna be eatin' lunch? Huh?"

Cliff sighed. "I already told you--when we find something to eat, we eat."

"Oh." They only walked for another fifteen minutes when James spoke up again. "When are we gonna find something to eat?"

Cliff sweatdropped and scratched the back of his head. "Uhh...I don't know. We'll just find it while we're walking, I guess. If we don't find any, we'll just wait until we get home and I'll feed you then--"

"But Cliff, I'm hungry right now! Can we please stop to eat? Please? I'm gonna starve to death! Don't you even care?" James continued whining to an invisible person next to Cliff, his childish complaining going unheard.

"Is he always like this?" asked the quilava uncertainly.

"Unfortunately, yes." sighed Jessie. She grabbed what looked to Cliff like a large mallet from behind her back, striking it against the electric type's head.

"Owie! That hurt." he whimpered, rubbing his sore noggin.

"Well, get used to it." the poochyena replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm not stopping 'til the lesson here is finally learned, which in your case, may be never." She put the mallet back behind her back and Cliff looked on, blinking, a little confused.

"Where'd you get that?" he inquired.

"Oh, _that_?" Jessie said, a little surprised that someone had asked her. "To tell you the truth, I don't exactly know, but it's always there when I need it. Isn't that right, James?"

"Eh." he murmured, still cradling his recently received headache between his paws.

Cliff raised his eyebrow. "So, you mean...ah, nevermind. You guys are weird." He started walking again when he stopped and stared back behind himself questioningly at the two transformed pokemon. Jessie and James gave him the same look.

"What?"

"Well, generally, most poochyena and shinx don't walk on their hind legs like that. You're going to draw attention, ya know."

Jessie smirked. "So, what? I see you're walking just like we are."

Cliff just returned the smirk, without any hesitation in his response. "That's because it's perfectly normal for my species to walk this way. In fact, there are a lot of different pokemon who commonly walk on two legs. But you guys aren't one of 'em."

"And why can't we be?" Jessie questioned, a little angered. Her mind wandered back to Meowth. Sure, his species didn't normally walk on two legs either, but their feline companion managed to teach himself anyway. In fact, he also learned human speech and other skills the common normal type wouldn't. Why should it be any different for them?

"Well...I don't know. Other pokemon are bound to get suspicious and I don't want you two to get discovered. Isn't that a good enough explanation?"

"Yeah, but...why can't we be _discovered_?" asked James, scratching his neck with his front paw. "Does it really matter?"

Cliff sighed. "Look, all I know is if people start finding out, it could lead to a dangerous outcome for the three of us." He looked around, a bit worried. "I just don't want to talk about it out here, in the open. This is a public area as far as I'm concerned, and it's not a place to discuss personal matters. I promise, when we get to my house I'll try to answer your questions. But will you _please_ just play along with me here?"

Jessie and James blinked at him after he finished his vague speech. He sounded serious; serious enough that even Jessie gave in and took the situation delicately. "OK...whatever." she answered. "We have enough problems on our hands--er, paws--as it is, anyway."

"Heh...paws. That's funny." chuckled James.

"What's so funny about it?!" Jessie fumed, obviously not amused in the slightest. She got out her paper fan, slapping his face multiple times with it.

"STOPPIT!" he whined sorrowfully between blows.

"Oh, woe are you, Mr. Self Pity." Jessie retorted, putting away the fan. "Now do everyone a favour and keep your annoying lips clamped shut, okey?"

Cliff rubbed his forehead, feeling a slight pang of sinuses coming on. When he first met these two "humans", he thought it would be easy to take them in and help them out. After all, when he used to be in a rescue team, he did rescues all the time. Piece of cake. However, these two proved wrong. He surely underestimated them from the beginning, but now he didn't have much of a choice. Besides, a headache was only a mere side effect of this rescue. At least he wouldn't be so lonesome all the time...in fact, it could even be fun.

Maybe...

"This sucks. My hands are getting all dirty and all because we have to walk like _normal _pokemon." complained Jessie, for once it not being her whiny partner. "This really **really **sucks."

"Not hands, Jessie. _Paws_." James chuckled again.

Jessie rolled her eyes. "I don't care what you want to call them. Just look how dirty I'm getting...oh, it is going to take so long to get the mud out from between my pads." She lifted up a muddy paw in disgust, then glanced up at the quilava, who seemed to be on a train of thought. "Hey, Fire Weasel. Tell us--how long again 'til we reach the next shower?"

Cliff, getting onto the fact that she must be talking to him, turned around to meet her gaze. "Showers?" he asked. "No, there's no showers here."

"OK, a bathtub then." she grumbled.

"Erm...no bathtubs, either."

"What about a hose? Come on. You have a hose, at least."

"Nope. No hose." Cliff continued. "We don't really need any such thing here. The water pokemon take care of the water supply here, which is good. Water bills are the last thing I'd like to waste my money on these days."

Jessie looked at him with an odd mix of confusion and fury. "No water? How are we gonna bathe ourselves, then?!"

Cliff smiled ear-to-ear. "That's what you have a tongue for, now isn't it?" He continued walking, but Jessie and James stopped to think it over.

"We have to...lick ourselves?" James made a sick face.

Cliff saw them stop and turned once again to meet them. "You're pokemon, now. What do you expect? Nothing's going to change just because the two of you dropped in, so you might as well get used to acting like one."

Jessie sweatdropped. "This is going to be a blast." she mumbled sarcastically.

The three of them continued to walk. It just so happened that Tiny Woods--the place where Cliff found the two of them late morning--was quite a ways from wherever the quilava happened to be leading them. They took hardly any breaks, though they did stop for lunch when Jessie sniffed out an apple tree, and a couple other times when James supposedly became so tired he could not move his legs. They also unexpectedly got attacked by a couple pidgeys and sunkern, though Cliff did a good job of getting rid of them quickly with his flamethrower. It seemed like forever when Cliff finally stopped for good. Jessie and James collapsed from behind him, obviously very exhausted for what seemed to them to be quite a long journey.

Cliff laughed as he saw them on the ground, dazed and breathing heavily. "We're here." he announced.

James blinked weakly at the small establishment in front of them. A couple old fireplaces and torches stood around it, though none of them lit fire, much to their relief. In fact, it looked as if they hadn't been lit for a long time. "What's that? A...A shack?"

"Not just any shack." Cliff assured. He turned to the worn down shelter, pointing in its direction. "This here used to be my old home about a year ago. Gosh, it's a miracle it's still here. I thought it would be gone for sure, with the town being rebuilt and everything."

"Town? So not only do we have talking pokemon here, but there's also a town?" Jessie inquired suspiciously. "And I suspect it's run by pokemon too, isn't it?"

"Quite right." Cliff nodded. "Wow, you two are more clever than I thought. But I'm not letting that get my guard down." He cleared his throat and continued to explain. "The town is only a block away from where we're standing. It's got a shop, a bank, a dojo...the works. However, it's being rebuilt, for reasons unknown to me. I believe they are making a guild there...but then again, I've never been around long enough anymore to know for sure."

Jessie was too delighted to have finally reached their destination that she didn't have time to criticise his beginning statement. "Well, at least we're here now."

James agreed, getting up on shaky knees. "I don't think I could have survived another minute!" He looked to Cliff with sparkling eyes. "Now let's eat dinner! It's been forever since we last ate!"

"Yeah, five hours." Jessie snorted. When he wasn't complaining, whining, or getting attacked by a nearby wurmple, he was thinking about food; pretty typical. But then again, she could feel her own stomach grumbling at the thought. After all, that harsh traveling was more than she and James were used to from when they worked in Team Rocket. Even she, herself had to admit it was pretty tiring. It was surprising to see that Cliff didn't seem to have lost one ounce of energy from the trip. What was wrong with this guy?

"Dinner doesn't sound too bad." Cliff cut in through her thoughts. "I have a couple leftovers from lunch that should soothe our hunger for tonight." He stood near the entrance of the small tattered shack. "Come on now. We shan't be wasting time." He slid easily in with both his travelers following closely behind.

The two of them looked around to take in the new environment. The place had obviously been unused since Cliff's last outing about a year ago. It was small and old, though it had a comforting aura to it. The floor was made of wood, and on the ground there was a small bale of hay looking to resemble some sort of bed. A couple bottles and food bowls appeared to be scattered around the base. There was also a miniature shelf filled with cobwebs.

"Well, how do you like it?" asked Cliff. "This is your new home."

"It's real nice, Cliff," James said impatiently. "but what about dinner?"

The quilava sweatdropped. "Alright, alright. Let me split up the leftovers. Just be patient." He grabbed some half eaten apples out from his non-existent pocket and began slicing them up. Jessie and James stared up at the abandoned shelf above the hay bale and wondered what could be up there.

"Hey, what are you hiding up there?" Jessie inquired with a suspicious tone in her voice.

"What?" He turned around.

"Up on that shelf." James hinted.

Cliff turned his eyes away. "Oh." he replied. "There? I don't know." He continued cutting the apples without another word. But his answer apparently wasn't enough to satisfy his visitors, and five seconds later he was once again interrupted by their voices.

"Whaf's thith?"

Cliff turned around once more. They were just close enough to startle him, and James had a big, brown book in his mouth, causing his distorted speech.

"Is this your diary?" Jessie asked with a smirk. "I didn't know pokemon kept diaries. Especially _boy _pokemon." She eyed over him as if waiting for him to admit to it. Her smirk was starting to creep him out a little.

"Uhhh...I know nothing of it." Cliff stated, scratching his head to send the message of confusion. His acting, no matter how clever, did not fool either of of them. James dropped the book to the ground and after reading it, tilted his head.

"But it says...**Cliff's Diary** on it." he insisted.

Jessie only smiled wider. "Ooooh...a secret diary." she mused. "What do you think he writes about, James? The cute flareon who lives down the block?!"

Cliff fumed. "No!" he cried anxiously, sweating. He grabbed the book from paw's reach of the other two. "This is just...it's just some book I used to write in about my traveling..." He trailed. Seeing that both their eyes were not leaving the book, he nervously walked between them and placed it back on the shelf, pushing it back into the dust and darkness.

"So...does this mean we get to eat dinner yet?" asked James hopefully.

"Well..." The apples weren't completely split up, but what did it matter, really? He shrugged it off. "Sure. Go ahea--"

His sentence was left unfinished as both ravenous pokemon tore through the leftovers, consuming them in such haste that Cliff was afraid they might carelessly choke.

Fortunately, that was not the case. The two of them had successfully dissolved every trace of edibility in Cliff's home without breaking a sweat, much less a throat muscle. It was the last of their food supply, but it didn't bother the quilava much--he had tons of money for food anyway, so it didn't seem much of a problem. Instead, he found it quite funny. After how tired the both of them looked from traveling, they completely spilled with energy at the sight of food. Cliff laughed.

"Wow...it's a mystery you two didn't turn into munchlax, with appetites like that." he joked.

James burped. "'Scuse meh..." he trailed. He hiccuped and placed a paw over his mouth.

"I think you guys are probably gonna eat me out of house and home by the time we actually start making progress." Cliff stated, half joke, half personal. "We're gonna have to really keep up with rescues to afford enough apples to satisfy all three of us."

A visible question mark appeared over James's head. "Wha--? Rescues?"

Cliff sweatdropped, once noticing he had finally spilled. "Alright, I admit. I've been planning it over ever since I asked you two to accompany me. I was bound to give you the offer soon enough."

"What offer? What the heck are you talking about?" asked Jessie.

Cliff took a deep breath, preparing himself for what seemed to be a big speech. "Well, let's start from the beginning. See, I've been out of business for about a year now in the rescue industry. Ever since then, I've been making a living as a pokemon out in the wilds, but let me tell you--it's been a lonely 365 days out there. Seriously, the other pokemon there were nothing more than...well, pokemon. My life's been stinking miserable ever since I decided to abandon my old rescue team, and now I'm getting the urge to be on a team again, you know, like the old days. The times have gotten rough again and there's more and more pokemon in danger because of it. And that's where you guys come in." He looked both of them over before continuing. "When I met you two humans out in Tiny Woods, I knew I was onto something special. There's no doubt you're probably linked to whatever's happening, and I want to know more about it. Every time a human has entered this world, it has been at the same time was disaster began to stuck--this is because the only real _reason _humans are sent to this world is in order to save it. That's why I want to help you." He paused for a breath. "And that's why I want you to help me form a new rescue team."

Both of his guests jumped in response.

"Whoa, hold the phone for a second." Jessie growled, regaining her feet. "I don't know what's with you and this whole rescuing gig, but your words are nothing but jibberish to me. Me and my friend were not sent here at all. In fact, I think it was an accident. All we want is to get Meowth back and return to our lives."

James nodded. "Yeah. We can't stay too long, especially since Meowth must be looking for us."

"But...this could be important." pleaded Cliff. "Your appearance here was no accident at all. There has to be a reason behind it. I mean, you guys could have been...you know, chosen to save us or something. Don't you want to know why you're here? Doesn't it bother you?"

"Frankly, no." Jessie replied coldly. "All we want is to know how to _get _out of here."

"But we have to find Meowth, first." James added quickly. "Then we'll be on our way, right?"

"For once, yeah, you are right...unbelievably so." Jessie responded jokingly. "All we need is to find Meowth and we'll be blasting off out of this place in an instant."

"Hooray!" James celebrated in excitement. "Now that's the kind of blasting off I'm open to!"

Cliff stopped them in the middle of their enthusiasm. "Not that it's any of my business but...you two really have no idea where to even start looking for your friend, do you? This place is full of many, many different dungeons. And those dungeons, better yet, are filled with just as many pokemon. If you thought that pidgey in Tiny Woods was tough, you'll never know what you're going up against in the stronger dungeons. You have hardly a chance at all."

Jessie's brow furrowed. "You calling us weak?"

Cliff didn't even flinch. "I said nothing of the sort." he replied casually. "All I'm saying is, without knowledge nor strength of your friend's whereabouts, you'll most likely be putting yourselves at your own risk of danger. Unpredictable things could happen."

Jessie didn't seem at all convinced by his words. "So what are you trying to say, then? That we should just let poor Meowth fend for himself out there in those tougher areas...without _us_? Pretty selfish attitude, wouldn't you agree?"

"No! This is not greed, it is merely a concern for your safety." the quilava countered. "I have, for a fact, been to these dungeons. You two are no match for the pokemon that dwell there. I can't just let you go there alone, without anyone to protect you. It's way too dangerous."

"But Meowth!" wailed James. "We have to go there! We need to find Meowth!"

"I can always send a high ranked rescue team after your friend, but I'm afraid that's all I can really do." he admitted. Then, suddenly getting an idea, he brightened up. "Unless..."

"Unless what? TELL US!" stormed James, grabbing onto Cliff's waist in a full embrace.

"Alright, alright, just cool it, will ya?" he asked, pushing the overly-anxious pokemon's body weight off his own. He cleared his throat and eyed the two of them. "Listen, I'll make a deal with you two. I'll help you find your friend...Meowth, is it?...and in return, I expect both of you to join me in a rescue team and carry off rescue activities. I also want you to stay with me and maybe find out a little why you turned into pokemon. That's my goal. So what do you say? Deal?" he stuck out his paw to both Rockets.

Jessie sighed. "Look, if it's to find Meowth, we'll do anything. Just help us." She winced as she said this. It wasn't like her to ask for help, especially to none other than an un-fully evolved pokemon. Besides, if he wouldn't let them go there themselves, it looked like it was their only good choice.

"Yeah, anything!" agreed James.

Cliff smiled. "I knew you'd accept. Don't worry...with me, anything is possible. We'll be able to get your friend back, safe and sound. If we all ban together as a team, we'll be able to get it done. Who knows? We can become really high-ranked and help serious pokemon in danger! We can even become good friends, maybe..."

"But after we find Meowth," Jessie concluded, staring Cliff straight into his maroon eyes. "you're going to take us straight back home, promise?"

Cliff stopped and grunted understandingly. "Yeah. I promise."

"Cool. Thanks so much, Cliff!" James barked in excitement, his blue face shining. He ran up once again to the quilava, only this time he was ready and dodged the hug, sending James flying into the wall.

Jessie sweatdropped. "This is going to be a looooong trip..."

"Heh...yeah. Totally." added Cliff, rubbing the back of his head as the shinx slowly slid down the wall. Opening his mouth and lifting his finger, (if a quilava has one...if one not, then his paw) he seemingly proclaimed at random, "Why don't I go...get some food for tomorrow?"

Jessie's eye twitched. "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeahhh...do that."

...

Not too much later into the afternoon, the sun was finally started to set and a couple stars appeared in the orange sky. It really wasn't afternoon much anymore. It was evening and time to get some much needed rest. It had been a long day. Cliff was still yet to return with the grub, and the other two took this to their advantage to make themselves a little at home.

"So what do you think about Cliff?"

Jessie paused for a moment as she dropped a pile of hay on the ground for her bed, slabbing it down with her paws. She and James were still breaking Cliff's little rule about "standing on two legs and using paws instead of mouth", but he wasn't there anyway, so it didn't matter much. She shrugged. "Still don't trust him."

"Still?"

Jessie cracked her neck sideways and settled into her new bed. "Nope. The guy seems way too suspicious to me. Why," she questioned, lifting an eyebrow. "Do you?"

James shrugged, kicking the stray pieces of straw into his nest. "Well, I assumed both of us did...you know, after we accepted that little offer of his." And with a smile, "He seems pretty friendly."

"Well, sure, he is _now_..." the poocheyna replied. "But the way he was pleading us to join him before was almost like he was forcing us. I think he wants to use us for something. After all, it seems like a tactic we've used a couple times on the twerps. You know, the Friendly Approach?"

"Oh yeah, you mean when we follow the rules and battle fairly?" James inquired.

"No, no, not _that, _you numskull." she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm talking about when we pretend to be friends with them in order to steal the brat's pikachu. Of course, it never worked on them. But then again, they always seem to find a way out, 'cos they're twerps. But for us it's different, you know. We won't just get lucky, so we have to keep our guard up around this character. If that weasel is planning something, I'll be sure to find out and make sure it backfires on him."

James blinked. "And if he isn't?"

Jessie gave a big, long yawn, mostly to irritate James as he awaited her reply. "Well..." she yawned again, a small one this time. "I doubt we'll ever uncover the truth, unless he finds a real smart way to prove it." She laid her head down. "Now stop being so annoying with your dumb questions and go to sleep already."

James looked around worriedly from his hay bale. "But...is it safe?"

He could hear growling from Jessie's side of the room. "If you don't stop getting on my nerves, I can **guarantee** it won't be safe...must I remind you I still have my wooden mallet? And if I am not mistaken, I can just come over there and pummel you on the head with it?"

The shinx squeezed under the hay until only his bottom was visible. "Let's skip that part." he mumbled from underneath the straw.

Jessie smirked. "Alright, then. Night, James."

"Mmmmm...goodnight Jess..." he hummed, already half-asleep in what looked to be an uncomfortable position.

After a couple minutes when it had become apparent that the two of them were in a deep slumber, a head peeked out from outside. It was Cliff, and it was obvious he had been listening in a little to the two of them to maybe find out a bit more about their pasts. Instead, he was shocked to find that they found everything about him as suspicious and thought of he, himself as a some sort of...villain. It was a little disregarding to him.

"You still don't trust me?" he whispered. "After providing you with all this? Food...shelter...and even an offer to save your friend?" he shook his head. "Ah, give it time, Clifton. This wouldn't be the first time this has happened. They don't really seem too apt to change their minds, especially that poochyena..." he lifted his eyes to her. "but you can win their trust. Just try harder. After all, you are the Great Cliff." he grinned, after saying this re-collation of his own past. "But now, it's time to catch some Z's."

He walked up to his little hay bale in the middle of the room, the center of his two guests and hung his black necklace snuggly on the small stick of a rack above it. He took his hand away from the small rock attached and let it swing limply in the air. He sighed with satisfaction, then spun around three times and curled into a ball. He was about to go to sleep, but found he could not, as the shinx next to him was snoring loudly as he tossed around with drool hanging from his lip. Cliff put his arms over his head. "Figures..." he grumbled. However, as he was trying to block out the horrific noise, his eyes guided to the shelf hanging to the wall...where his diary was. He tried to look away. _Ha! No way...I haven't opened that thing in ages. There's just no way I can just..., _he looked up at it again. _Come on, Clifton, get it together! It's just a book! There's really no need..._When he glanced up a third time, he knew he had to take action. He just couldn't resist writing up his thoughts again, after so long. And besides, who can get to sleep with such loud and bubbly snoring?

Carefully stepping over Jessie, he approached the shelf. He reached up and grabbed the book, blowing the dust off the cover page. Hey, without all the cobwebs, it still looked just like it did when he first got it. He opened the first page, then the next and the next. He sighed again as he recalled the memories. Wow, that was before he got so lonely and isolated...a year ago, when he always seemed to be in the midst of adventure and rescuing pokemon from all over the place. Hm, those were the days...

He continued flipping until he came to an empty page. He grabbed the pencil from within the notebook's coils and lit a small torch next to him for a candle with a weak ember attack. Finally settled, he brought pencil to paper and began to write.

_Dear Diary,_

_Yeah, it's me again. It's been so long...I know. You probably thought you got rid of me for good, huh? _(he laughed) _Well, I've made my return back home, and honestly, I was pretty sure I'd find this place...and you, in a pile of ashes by now. Fortunately you're still here, and I can't believe I forgot to take you with me...not like it was interesting anyway. In fact, it was the worst year of my life to tell you the truth. _

_Until today...oh yes, today. That's the whole reason I'm even here now, instead of out there in the crummy wild. See, when I was walking through the Tiny Woods this morning, doing my usual morning duties, I found these two abnormal pokemon...and guess what? They're human! I just cannot believe it...I mean, it's happening all over again! Of course, I mentioned them to come home with me and that's why I'm here now. I managed to persuade them to help figure out why there here...I'm sure there's a reason behind it. _

_The bad thing is...well, I don't think they trust me entirely yet. I don't know what it is about them, but they've shown it in their actions and I've heard it in their conversations. I really want to be friends with them because they don't seem like the kind who would want to cause trouble...erm...at least, I don't think. They claim to have lost their friend, and as part of the deal, it looks like I'll be helping them find him as well._

_Anyway... _(he went on, deciding to be quick about it as he didn't want to make his entry too long) _I think I'm going to keep my eyes glued to the two of them. Tomorrow I'm planning to bring them to town with me. I'm curious to see how it's changed, or if it's changed at all, really. It would be nice to see some of the old townsfolk again. _

(he looked up for inspiration, then jotted down his last paragraph) _Well, I gotta get going. I'm gonna need my rest for tonight, and it isn't going to get to sleep with one of my visitors snoring up a storm to the left of me...so until next time, see ya._

_--Cliff_

Satisfied with his work, the quilava carefully closed the book and placed it back on the shelf. _Wow, I forgot how good it felt to be able to write so freely again..., _he thought happily as he waved away the flame on the torch and headed to bed. He knew the snoring wasn't going to be the only thing keeping him up...the issues he was having with his new guests also picked at his mind. Would they trust him? Could they? When?

He knew it was no time to question, but he just couldn't keep letting the thoughts spill out of his brain. It looked like nothing was going to get accomplished just by thinking about it, so tomorrow, he was going to try to act in a much more "un-suspicious" way, perhaps to prove that he was no harm to them? With a last yawn, he shut his eyes for the night and wrapped himself into a tighter circle. No matter what problems he did, they would never get accomplished unless he went to sleep.

So on that final note, he dozed off.

...

_Uh, yeah...second apology. PMD2 isn't the only thing that's been taking over my life, but I've had projects and concerts and all the works...anyway, hope you enjoyed that chapter, though it's kind of boring since I'm still lingering on the beginning (I know...I'm such a slow writer T.T). Like I predicted, Meowth's chapter is once against split from his friends', and if the story continues flowing this way, it probably will be for most of it._

_Anyway, stay tuned...our favourite talking feline and his new ivysaur friend will be up next. :)_


	5. Full Mind, Empty Stomach

**Disclaimer: When I tell you that I am a tiger, it's not true, so don't believe me. I'm really a leopard. **

_OMG, yay. I actually updated this! I guess I don't go on the computer as much as I used to anymore, but hey, I still type like there's no tomorrow, don't I? To tell you the truth, I pretty much have the basic ideas for most of the plot on this story but I'm just...you know, too lazy to write it up. And even though this is chapter five already, I still haven't gotten to any dungeons or fun stuff yet. Meh. / But don't fret, they'll be coming up soon, in fact, probably in the next couple chapters as I predict. Anyway, enjoy, like always._

_..._

Miles and seemingly miles away from where Jessie and James were, sat the beige-coloured scratch cat pokemon, sprawling out in the open and looking to the now darkening sky. After being around in that business-like building all day, it was nice to come out and get a little fresh air. In fact, it was a lot more fresh than he remembered. Perhaps in this world, everything was more clean and pure because there were no humans to pollute the area with hazardous gases and chemicals much like the ones performed in the HQ's laboratory? It sure seemed like a possibility...he liked to think about it, but he had something much bigger picking at his mind at the moment to let him start dreaming about all his other endless questions.

Jessie and James. Who knew, after one long day away from them, he could become so homesick and pained in his heart? It was only one day and he'd be sure to be here for quite a while, helping out with the little mission he was asked to do. He wanted to just forget about his old friends...besides, he was a pokemon. Wasn't it natural for a pokemon to be friends with other pokemon, not humans?

_But I'm not a normal pokemon..., _he thought to himself as he stared into the stars. _I'm not normal ta myself and I'm not normal ta **dem**...I'm not normal ta anybody, not even my two bestest friends. _He heaved a sigh. It was okay to be abnormal...just a little different...wasn't it?

"What'cha doin'?"

The voice cut his thoughts. He spun his large head around to face the curious ivysaur that had appeared at his side and managed to smile. "Eh, just tinkin'." he said, looking back to the sky and flickering his tail behind him in the shadow of the moonlight.

Flower looked to him in concern. "You seem troubled. Are you alright?"

"Ha! Neva been better." he replied swiftly, trying to avoid her gaze. The ivysaur, in return, cocked her head to one side and Meowth naturally ignored her until she spoke up again.

"You're still homesick, aren't you?"

Meowth was shocked, though he tried to hide it as he spun around, nearly tripping on one of his own paws. "Hoih? Ya tink I'm still dawdlin' around, dreamin' about home? Wha--" He stopped and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you're right. But you'd be homesick too if you were da one transported to a different woild."

Flower smiled. "No doubt."

Meowth turned away once more to glance at the stars as a signal he wanted to be alone, but he could still feel her fiery eyes piercing right into his body. He waited a few seconds longer, but he still felt the stare down his spine. "Hey," he said suddenly, without even checking to see if she was still there. "What are ya still doin' out here so late, anyway?"

Flower smiled wider, though Meowth didn't even notice because he still had his back turned on her. "Why am I out here?" she repeated. "Why...because I love the outdoors. Being a grass-type, that should be quite understandable to you, no?" She pranced up in front of him in a sort of frolic.

"Uhhh...I guess." said Meowth, with lack of anything else to say.

"Look, Meowth..." started Flower. "We can both stay out here if we keep quiet about it. Usually, _this_ is the time that we would have to go to bed, but Alakazam and the others are busy right now and probably not keeping track of the time. We can stay up a little while longer, maybe a good minutes time if they don't catch us."

It seemed a pretty childish thing, Flower having her own bedtime and all, but Meowth didn't give it much thought and simply shrugged his shoulders in response. "Okay...dat's good, I guess. I tink I'm just gonna, ya know, stay out here for a while and keep my toughts to myself and you can call me when it's time ta hit da hay."

"Oh, you're thinking right here, all on your own? Alone?" Flower asked, biting her tongue. Her eyes then suddenly flashed, as if an idea just hit her out of nowhere. "Hey, why don't I show you to my favourite thinking spot? I go there all the time to help with my problems. It's a really great place, almost magical in a sense. It's almost as if it lifts all my worries from my shoulders...it's really nice. You should let me show it to you."

Meowth sighed. _Dis kid just won't give up, will she? _He glanced at her face. Ah, she was giving him the cute stare, otherwise known as the "puppy-dog eyes", though he had to admit he never saw it being used by an ivysaur before. The more he tried to resist _the look_,the harder it became in reality to ignore. Besides, if there really was a place that could fan away all his worries, it was something that may be worth seeing. Finally, with a long, exasperated sigh, he gave in. "Alright, alright, we can go ta dis tinking spot of yours, if dat's what you REALLY--"

"Ooh, yay!" she chirped in bubbly excitement and cutting Meowth off in the process of doing so. She did a small mid-air backflip in joy. "I can't wait to show it to you! It's really quite lovely, especially at night. I think you might like it!"

"Heh. Sure...whateva." he managed, trying to sound cheerful about the moment. Well, at least now that he was stuck in this world, he might as well make the best of it. After all, he'd only been here a mere day, and he'd already got an offer of friendship from an overly jolly grass-type that didn't prove so bad. Maybe a walk was what he really needed, to get his mind off all his problems and worries that have been haunting him upon waking up that morning.

Flower, if it was even possible, just smiled again. Meowth guessed by now it must be some sort of hobby of hers, being so happy all the time. "Cool! Let's go!" She danced away, gesturing Meowth to follow--which he absentmindedly did. Almost instantly, the cat began taking in some of the outdoor sights, smells and sounds.

"Hmm...nice atmosphere." he complimented, finding it necessary to say something as with he and his big mouth, silence was never really to his liking.

Flower beamed. "I know!" she exclaimed. "Isn't it just great out here? I don't get to come outside often because Alakazam and Calix tell me it could be dangerous out here on my own...but with you, Meowth, I bet they'd let me do anything."

Meowth chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "Yeah...I am da Stronger One, after all." It was sure true, when he thought about it. None of the pokemon at the HQ, not even the intelligent Alakazam seemed to notice that he was just an average meowth...no, weaker than average, rest assured. Everyone thought he was super-powerful or something, like the legendary Mew or even Arceus. How could they think...?

As if Flower could read his mind, she suddenly brought up the subject that the scratch cat was regretting to hear. "But we're going to be outside a lot more I think, because tomorrow Calix is going to train us and we're gonna do a lot of cool fancy missions and stuff. Imagine how great that's going to be...I've never seen you use your powers before, Meowth, but I bet you're really something in battle! I can't wait to train with you! In fact, I consider it a privilege. I mean, to think--me, just an ordinary ivysaur--making friends with an amazing hero like you. I couldn't be more honored!"

_Well, don't be..., _Meowth thought, though saying it out loud, he was sure it would crush Flower's spirits. Instead, he just nodded at her and kept his thoughts to himself. Why would she believe him anyway, if he all of a sudden mentioned that he couldn't use any powers? Well, she'd take it as a joke, of course. When has a pokemon ever been unable to use battle moves? Even a newly hatched weedle would know a few good things; maybe string shot or poison sting...point taken, pokemon are pokemon, and there would be absolutely no way Flower would believe him if he--

"Hey Meowth, look! There it is!"

Meowth began to approach when she suddenly stopped in front of him. "Waitwaitwait! Hold on! Close your eyes! I want this to be a surprise!"

Meowth wasn't too psyched by the idea, but nevertheless, he obeyed the leaf type and put his paws over his eyes. "Alright. Now what?"

"Follow my voice...over here...this way..." Meowth tried his best to walk in the direction of her energetic voice. _What is this game she's playin'? Blind cat's bluff?, _he wondered with a sigh. He felt ridiculous walking around blind like that. Fortunately for him, it didn't last as long as he had predicted.

"AH HA!" she cried. Meowth could tell she had stopped, and he stopped along with her. "Can I open my eyes now?" he asked, feeling stupid.

"Yes, yes, open them!"

Meowth's eyes blinked open. For a couple seconds, he stared at the little so-called surprise as if it were nothing. Then, all of a sudden, he jumped back in shock and yowled.

"AAAAAAAAH!"

"What's wrong, Meowth?" asked Flower, puzzled. "I thought you would like it."

"Well, oh! Oh! I mean, heh...it's beautiful and all, but..." he trailed nervously, his eyes wandering in different directions. "But it's just dat...eh..." He started twiddling his fingers.

Flower leaned forwards, desperately waiting for Meowth to spit it out. "Yes? What is it? Too boring?" She began to look a bit disappointed.

"Oh! Oh NO!" Meowth assured, waving his paws in the air. "It's great, Flower! It's really nice, see...I'm just...ya know...a little..." He looked down at his paws. "Just a bit..."

It suddenly hit Flower, after thinking it over. "Oh...I get it, Meowth. You're afraid of it, aren't you?"

Meowth fumed. "Naw! I aint afraid of dat stuff...too much." His eyes wandered away.

Flower laughed. "Oh, Meowth. There's no denying it...but it's okay. This river won't hurt you. In all it's years of known existence, it's always been very peaceful and slow-moving. Nothing to be afraid of, see?" She dipped her paw in the water, creating ripples. Meowth flinched back, looking at the water in disgust. It wasn't his fault he was afraid of water, after all. It was just in his genes, as it was for most every meowth.

Flower looked back at Meowth, who was glaring at the river with unblinking eyes. "You know..." she started. "If it makes you nervous, we don't have to hang around."

Meowth snapped out of hypnosis. "Well...of course...I knew dat!" he pronounced. He could have sworn after all this time spent with Flower, his cool level had been slowly decreasing. It wasn't a bad thing; in fact, Meowth found Flower to be pretty good company, however jumpy and annoying she could be. It's just that he found he tended to do embarrassing things in front of her. Of course, in Team Rocket he had been quite the clown, but that was different. Here, it was like...he'd do something humiliating and she'd have that cute child-like laugh that annoyed the heck out of him. He definitely did not feel anything close to "cool" when stuff like that happened.

Meowth turned to look at the water, but this time, trying to consume his fear. His tense body relaxed and his eyes slanted calmly down as he watched the still waters. Flower was right, it was pretty peaceful. But would it really be able to help him forget all the horrible thoughts haunting in his mind? "Hm, hey Flower?"

"...yeah?" It seemed she was pretty transfixed at the river just like he was, letting herself relax and sit down in a pretty comfortable position.

"Well, I was just gonna ask. Ya said dis tinking spot makes your worries go away? Is dat really true?"

Flower shrugged. "I don't know if it works for everybody, but it works for me. Ever since I was brought here, I fell in love with this river. I guess it's really the only thing I had...that is, until I met you, Meowth." She smiled at him, and he couldn't help but feel a little awkward at what she was saying.

"Hold on..." Meowth said, stopping her. "You mean, yous didn't come here on your own right?"

Flower took a little longer answering this time, as if she needed a few minutes to think it over. "Well..." She looked from the water, to Meowth and then back again. "not really, no."

Meowth's eyes widened. "What, ya mean you were forced to come here? Why? Are you a slave ta dem, and if ya don't do what dey say, dere gonna beat ya ta death or cook ya in da oven with leftovers from last night's dinner?!"

Flower laughed right out loud. "Arceus, no!" she yelled, trying to contain herself.

Meowth's brow arched. "Den why are ya here? Ya don't seem ta like it much."

Flower calmed down a little. "Well," she started. "Before, I had nothing--no home, no money..." She trailed, then continued. "...no friends. But then one day, while I was traveling on my own, looking for food and some other handy supplies...I was jumped."

Meowth, himself, jumped at this. "Ya mean yous were attacked?"

"Yeah."

"Who was it dat attacked ya?"

"I don't know. It was hard to see, since it was camouflaging itself in the shadows. Then with the most gruesome speed, it would strike me and knock me to the ground, and as I recovered, it would tackle me again. I never got a good look at the thing."

"So..." Meowth blinked. "What happened next?"

Flower continued, glad that she had finally found a trustworthy friend who would listen openly to what she said. "Well, that's when_ they_ came in. Before I even knew what was happening, a whole bunch of strong pokemon came by my side and attacked the intruder, scaring it away. Those pokemon that saved me...it was Team ACT, you know, Alakazam's team that you met today."

"Oh, so ya mean dey saved ya?" he inquired. "And let me guess, dey offered you to come here so dat you would have some place ta stay and food ta eat, and dere gonna train ya ta do boring lab stuff and make you waste your life away in dat dull, gray building?"

Flower smiled again; Meowth sure had a silly way with words. "You're halfway right. Sure, they let me stay to eat and sleep with them, but I never really do anything in the lab. I'm not really that much into science if you know what I mean, and Alakazam...well, he understands that, and he doesn't force me to do it because he knows I wouldn't want to."

Pause. "Den if you don't help out in da lab, what exactly do ya do here?"

"Hmmm, well..." she scratched herself with her hind leg. "Not much I guess, but I do spend a lot of time babysitting the youngsters, like Ralts and Riolu."

"Riolu?"

Flower nodded. "Calix's son. He's really cute, though he and Ralts can be quite the troublemakers sometimes. But I just love them. Kids can be naughty, but, well...they're kids, right? Besides, they're so adorable. It's hard to get mad at little guys like that, you know what I mean?"

Meowth shrugged. He never really liked kids if he had to tell the truth, but he had to admit he liked Ralts, and he'd probably like Riolu as well if he'd only gotten to know him. "Sorta." he answered.

The two of them just sat there for a moment when Flower spoke up again. "So what about you, Meowth? What's your life like back in the other world?"

The cat was speechless. It was all he had been thinking about since he got here, but he couldn't even start to put it into words. What was he supposed to do, summarize his entire life from the beginning? From the time he was born on the streets and learned how to act human, all the way until the night before when he was picking berries for the starving trio...and when he met Gardevoir and was brought here and met Flower herself? It all seemed like too much. And if he told her that he worked for a criminal organization? He shuddered. No, there was no way he could tell her something that delicate. But then again, Team Rocket _was _his life. Almost all of it, in fact, probably about 8 out of 9 lives worth. So what's not to tell?

Flower must have sensed his hesitation and cut into his thoughts almost instantly. "Don't worry, you don't have to. I was just...curious, that's all."

Meowth just shrugged again, hoping she would change the subject. Usually he himself was pretty good at that kind of thing, but tonight wasn't really a normal night. It was the first time in a long, long while since he had been away from his friends like such.

Luckily, after a little while she did turn the conversation around as if she could read his thoughts. She looked around nervously, as if she had just seen or heard something of suspicion and she quickly did what sounded like a fake yawn. "Hey, Meowth. It's getting kinda late. Maybe we should go to bed."

"Now? But I don't feel dat tired at all." he answered.

"Yeah, but..." she looked around again, talking softer now. Meowth could almost make out little dribbles of sweat on her forehead. "But, it could get dangerous. There's a lot of wild pokemon that could just be waiting to eat us up, not to mention the others at the HQ. They might be wondering where we are, and, and...we could get in trouble if they find us out here."

"Oh?" asked Meowth, a goofy smirk still planted across his face. "So you're tellin' me you're just afraid of dem scientists that ya live with? Ha!" He tossed his head. "How absurd! Dey aren't a threat to da Stronger One. Ha!"

Flower could tell that Meowth was just trying to show off his toughness, but it didn't seem to concern her much. In fact, her attention seemed to be on something behind the scratch cat, approaching and going unnoticed by him. "Urk...Meowth?"

"Heheheh! Don't worry Flower, like I said before, dey aint a problem when ol' Meowth's around." He pointed at himself, feeling deliciously important.

"Meowth...?"

"I'll take care of 'em, for ya. No one can match up me! It would be a horrible mistake, dat it would, dat it would." he nodded sincerely. "So whoever asks for a fight," He flexed his arms, showing absolutely no muscle. "I accept your challenge."

All of a sudden, a new voice came. "You want to fight?"

"Pfft...whatever." Meowth exclaimed, waving his paw and paying no attention to the shadow behind him. "But let me tell ya, you'd be no match for me, 'specially since I'm--" He cut himself off, finally realising a larger pokemon was standing behind him. He spun around in shock, stammering as he tried to finish his sentence. "I'm...I'm...I'm..." He cringed a little, until the pokemon revealed itself and stepped out of which was the darkness.

"Meowth, pride is only going to get you so far. What would you have done if I were indeed, a predator?Why, you don't quite know how to defend yourself yet. So stop with this foolishness at once."

Meowth still looked surprised. "Calix, where'd _you _come from?"

The lucario eyed Meowth. "A better question is, why in the world are you out here? You're supposed to be in bed."

Flower sighed. _Busted!_ Sensing the ivysaur's presence, Calix looked her over as well.

"And as for you, young lady, you know you aren't supposed to be out here during these late hours more than Meowth does. You should be teaching him to obey the rules, not messing around and breaking them yourself."

Flower lowered her head. "Yes, sir." she mumbled.

"Remember, if you want to train tomorrow I expect some good behaviour out of you, understand?"

"Yes."

"Promise me."

" I promise."

"Good."

The lucario gestured for her to get up and she did. He looked toward Meowth, who obviously had not been paying much attention to his lecture and had seemed to be off in his own little world. "This means you too, Meowth." Calix spoke. "Come to bed."

"Hoih?" Meowth was caught off guard once again. He glanced up and saw the canine-like pokemon standing next to Flower.

Flower tried not to chuckle. Even when she was in trouble, she couldn't help but enjoy the cat's antics. "Yeah, Meowth. Listen to Calix."

Meowth nodded, finding it best not to argue with such a tough-looking pokemon three times his size. "Mmmkay." He followed both characters back to the HQ, stretching his arms out and giving out his own little yawn as they went. _Wow, Flower was right, I'm gettin' a little tired myself. Guess if I'm ever gonna save da world, I'm gonna hafta get my beauty rest...even if it means followin' da orders of dis big, creepy guy who's supposed ta be our trainer. Besides, it's been a long day. _He looked down his backside with a worried face. _I can't even feel my rear end anymore, I don't tink. _

...

"So, dis is where we're sleepin'?" All three pokemon walked from the entry of the room to the place where Meowth and Flower were to catch up on their sleep.

"Yes. Is that a problem?"

"Naw." Meowth replied, not wanting to make a bigger fool out of himself in front of the canid. Instead, he looked up at the small beds in which they were to be settled. Beds? Hey, this wasn't bad at all! In his past, Meowth was lucky enough to find a couple leaves to snuggle up against. A cottage bed like this was luxury as he knew it.

"Alright Meowth, you can sleep in the guest bed next to mine." declared Flower. "Is that okay with you?"

Meowth gave the long, feline smile he was known for as he climbed up onto the mattress. It was creaky and a bit old, but that didn't really matter much. A bed was a bed, wasn't it? He lied down in a comfortable position with his arms behind his head. "Ah, it's more den okay. I could get used ta dis, ya know."

Flower giggled. "Oh, Meowth. You act as if you've been sleeping in dirt your whole life."

Meowth sweatdropped. "If only you knew." he remarked. He glanced lovingly towards the plushy pillow at the top of the bed, and picking it up, he squeezed it. To his delight, it was just as he had hoped. "Extra foim!" he pronounced, squeezing it tighter. Then, he noticed the small, woolly blanket. He also grabbed this and observed it at a close angle before rubbing his face against it. "Ooh, nice and fluffy!" he exclaimed. Flower smiled as she watched him get settled.

"I take it you're enjoying your new bed."

Meowth nodded. "Ya-up! It's very nice of ya to tink of me in dis way! I could be more flattoired." He sighed cozily as he snuggled up into his blanket.

Calix nodded in approval. "No thanks necessary." he stated. He stood over Meowth. "This will be where you sleep while we're at the HQ. I expect you to rest comfortably and take up as much bed space as you need. However, let me just lay down a few rules first."

Rules, shmules. Meowth locked eyes with Calix to pretend he was listening, but in reality blocked out what he was saying because frankly, he did not care. He caught a couple things whilst thinking to himself, which included what he thought was to be _no wetting the blankets_ or _no wandering off in the middle of the night_. Before he knew it, Calix was done with his explanation.

"So, you got that?"

"Uhh...yup." he replied, removing himself from la-la land.

"Great." The lucario walked to the door. "My room is across from here if you need anything, and the others' are close by as well so no worries. Now both of you, rest up and be ready tomorrow morning. Dameon will wake you and take you to the cafe for breakfast, and then I want you two to come out by the river for our training. Got it?"

"Got it." Flower and Meowth said in sync, though Meowth wasn't sure really what it was he was agreeing to, after daydreaming and all.

"Alright. Goodnight, sleep tight." He opened the door and stepped out. "Oh, and if you need any, there's some bed bug spray in the lower drawer of the nightstand." He turned off the lights and walked out the door completely, leaving a small opening. Meowth scratched his head and looked at the nightstand on his side of the bed.

Flower giggled. "Oh, Meowth. You know he was just joking about that whole bed bug thing, right?"

Meowth looked toward her, agape in shock. "Of course!"

"Hehe, good...I just didn't want you to have nightmares or anything of the sort."

Meowth once again smirked, pulling up his covers to his chest and sliding into the comfort that was the bed. "Me? Havin' nightmares? Come on, I should be worried about you, dat's right, dat's right. I'm da Stronger One, remember? I ain't afraid of nothin'."

Flower shook her head in amusement. She pictured Meowth's face when Calix had showed up out of nowhere...that definitely proved he wasn't afraid of _nothing_. But she didn't intend to embarrass him, so she decided not to bring it up. "Whatever you say." she replied instead. She yawned, this time a real one rather than fake. "Anyway, we should stop talking. Calix is right, we'll need our rest."

Meowth sighed after missing his golden opportunity to spin questions. He wanted to know more. Everything that was happening, everywhere he went, and everyone he met were all so still mysterious to him. "Oh, OK. Good night, Flower."

There was no response from the other bed.

"Flower?"

"Zzzzz...snorf...snurk..."

"Eheh..." Meowth sweatdropped when he realised she had fallen asleep. So easily, too. Meowth for one, took quite a longer time to fall asleep. Although the bed was making him tired, his mind was way too full of thoughts and questions to find dreams. Not only that, but he had an even bigger problem. And this one was bound to keep him up for the rest of the night.

"Grumble...gruwl...grrrrrrr..." Meowth patted his tiny stomach. Sure, it may be small in size, but his appetite was as big as a snorlax's. The last time he ate was that small snack whilst traveling in the HQ with Flower in the early afternoon. He had been so engrossed in exploring and daydreaming that incredibly, he had skipped dinner. Perhaps he could find a little something-something to eat in the HQ cafeteria?

Meowth shook his head no. He hadn't been listening to Calix's little speal of rules, but he could have sworn one of them was strictly set to prevent him from wandering the HQ at night. He flopped back into bed and rolled over on his side, trying to get to sleep. Come on, there's been million of times when he'd go to bed hungry in Team Rocket. Surely, he could--

"Grumble...glop..."

_Ignore it, Meowth. Ignore it. Think about breakfast tomorrow. Think about breakfast, think about breakfast, think about breakfast..._

Thinking of breakfast only got his stomach yelling louder. It was no use, no use at all. Meowth sat up and bed and thought. _Well, everybody's probably headin' off ta bed now. I could try ta sneak down and take some sort of food. After all, I am in Team Rocket, and bein' in Team Rocket, I've become pretty good at sneakin'...heh, it should be a breeze. _He started getting softly out of bed, letting his two long feet reach the floor without a sound. When this was accomplished, he peeked over the bed to make sure Flower really was asleep. She rolled over and murmured something, then dug her head under her pillow and continued snoring quietly.

Meowth let out a breath of relief. He wondered if the ivysaur would have really minded if he went to grab something to eat. After all, she skipped dinner too, she should understand. But Calix, he was different...he was a little more strict. He'd have to watch out for him.

Tip-toeing, he snuck skillfully across the tiled floor. _Just like an agent...a secret agent, _he thought, smiling. _Jessie and James would be proud. _He continued sneaking when Flower started talking loudly. Meowth ducked in fear.

"Bricks...I want bricks...no, we need bricks...the red bricks..." she licked the drool from her lips and settled down quietly. Meowth thought it was safe to start walking again, when she spoke up for a second time and he stopped, paralysed once more.

"No, no wood...bricks...I want bricks...bubblegum..." She fell onto her pillow again and resumed peaceful sleeping. Meowth rolled his eyes at being so over-cautious. He'd have to get out of that room and make it snappy.

He made it to the door when Flower started talking again, most likely about bricks...wait, what the heck was up with the bricks? Meowth decided it was not important and carefully opened the door in a fashion that disabled it from squeaking. Then he slid through the narrow opening and put it back to how it was before.

_Whew...made it past dere. Now ta get to da kitchen..., _Meowth told himself. He got down on all fours and crawled on his stomach. Hey, he was doing pretty good. In fact, he was fairly impressed with himself. The kitchen was not too far at all, at least to the extent of what he remembered.

The cat continued his trek going unnoticed. The chamber was dark and dreary at the late hour, but Meowth had a good sense of vision in pitch darkness. Sure, he couldn't see everything as clearly as he could in the light, but he at least could make out the important features like walls and doors so he wouldn't bump himself stupidly and completely waste his hard progress. Door after door. Wall after wall. Corner around corner.

Soon enough, the delicious aromas from the cafeteria came to what little Meowth had for a nose. He lifted his head in the air and took a couple sniffs. Yep, he had definitely reached his destination. He wanted to squeal out in joy but he held his excitement and continued to make his way silently through the large kitchen-like room.

Finally...finally...he found the hidden treasure. Meowth squeezed his head and front paws up to the counter. With his night vision, he assumed it was some apples, or maybe cookies. He leaned in and smelled it. Ah, it was cookies, or perhaps some other pastry. A Meowth favourite!

Slowly, Meowth reached a paw to grab some of the sweet-smelling goodness. He could feel saliva dripping from his tongue as he neared the snacks. Almost there...

All of a sudden, Meowth withdrew his paw and flinched. Someone...or some_thing_...was breathing on him. He could feel it, hot and loud on his fur.

_Oh no! Dere onta me! I knew dis was a bad idea..._ His heart started beating like a drum. _I hafta get outta here, I hafta get outta here! But how will I get outta here? Dere's someting breathin' and watchin' my every move! How..._

Meowth looked up. What looked like a large caved mouth suddenly started opening. Sharp, glistening fangs glowed from the breathing mouth, just waiting to swallow him whole. Meowth stepped back and put his paws over his head. His eyes never left that huge mouth as it just continued opening, opening, opening...

And just when he thought it would break if it opened any farther, the mouth curved into a smile and the fangs looked even more sharper than before. And then with it, a low, deep voice resounded.

"Hullo..."

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Meowth couldn't help it, he just had to scream! It was the scariest thing he had encountered in a long, long time. He didn't care who heard him...he was going to die! Still screaming, the scratch cat fled, his voice fading as he got farther and farther away.

Once the screaming had faded completely, the lights in the cafeteria flicked on, and Charizard stood next to the counter with a piece of food in his clawed hand. He looked rather puzzled as he stood there with his fangs sticking out from his snout.

"I was just gonna ask him if he wanted to share this wildberry sandwich with me..." he trailed. He looked down at the gorgeous slice of edibility in his grasp. "Ah, well." he decided with a shrug. "More for me!" He threw the sandwich to the back of his throat, crunched and then with a final loud swallow, casually left the room.

...

_Hehe, I hope you enjoyed Meowth's little heist; I thought I'd let Meowth have a little fun on his own for a little bit. :) This chapter wasn't really much important to the plot, but I found I needed Meowth and Flower to get to know each other a little better...so sorry if it may have been...boring, for those of you who want this story to just "get on already"! The next couple chapters should probably be more interesting due to the fact that both teams should start their training and the next chapter in particular may feature some familiar faces from the games. I hope I won't keep you too long with the next update, so just hang out and check often! ;)_


	6. Rescue Team Rocket

**Disclaimer: OK, is Cinnamon Toast Crunch _really_ the taste you can see? Are Lucky Charms _really_ magically delicious? And what the heck is up with Trix? I mean, leave the freaking rabbit alone for Pete's sake!!**

_Well hullo again. Nothing much to say at the moment, I guess. Just looks like I might be a little more busy this summer than I thought I would be, with summer reading (why, mother?) and practicing my butt off with summer music as well...especially that challenging jazz band stuff. But besides that, I'll also have the free thirty minutes to an hour or so a day to write like always, so don't worry. It also seems the Mystery Dungeon fics have been quite popular ever since the release of Time and Darkness, so I guess that's a good thing...unless it means people will start getting tired of it. :P Anyway...read on, and dun forget to review, even if ya hated it! ;)_

...

Jessie awoke expecting to find herself perhaps under a bridge, in a cardboard box or burrowed in a dirt pile with her lazy companions, ready to await the failures of a new day...but instead, she smelt something wonderful and though she felt dizzy, she managed to get up and shake her head around a little bit. It wasn't until she looked around when she finally remembered yesterday's events and how they had shockingly seemed to become pokemon overnight. It felt so unreal that she had at once expected it was just a dream, but now as the headache starting kicking in, she knew she had to face the truth...it really did happen, no matter how stupid it sounded. And they were going to have to get out of this freakshow as soon as possible, but maybe after she got another whiff of the delicious smell. And a smell this good can only mean one thing--food.

She rubbed her aching head and looked to the other side of the room. Cliff's hay bale beside hers was completely empty. James, however, was tossing around in his messy bed on the other side with hay stuffed in his mouth, and not to mention tangled around his limbs as well. Wow, he looked pretty pathetic. Even in pokemon form, he was still the same bumbling doofus she had come to know him as over the years. Nevertheless, he was still her partner and friend. She got up on her hindquarters and padded up to him, giving him a sharp nudge in the cheek with her cold nose.

"Hey James. Wake up, ya little bum." She grumbled with no enthusiasm. His eyelids fluttered open at the sudden contact with the cold, wet muzzle. He sat there for a few moments when he noticed the hay in his mouth and deliberately spit it out in disgust. He coughed and then looked up at Jessie with fear in his eyes.

"AAAAAAH! Wild pokemon! Help, Jessie!" he screamed, backing up into the corner. "It's gonna attack me! Help, _help_, **HELP**! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH--"

Jessie seized him by the mouth and he squirmed and flounced in her grasp. "Quiet, genius. It's me. Don't you remember anything from yesterday?"

"Mmmmphh..." James mumbled, continuing to struggle.

"Stop that, you." she ordered. "Now, if I let go of your lips, you're going to stop screaming and kicking. Alright?"

He only looked up to her in silence, so she took it as a yes and immediately dropped him and allowed him to spill onto the floor. He choked a little as he let air back into his lungs, then looked up at Jessie, blinked and...screamed again.

"WHAT IS THE MATTER WITH YOU?" she growled, sticking her face into his. This intimidated him and he kept quiet. "Now..." she continued in a softer tone. "Take a good look, James. This is me. I am sadly, a poochyena, and you are a shinx. We're prisoners in a world we don't know in bodies that aren't even ours. Don't you remember anything that happened yesterday? You know...like when that talking fire weasel found us and brought us here...?"

James's eyes widened as he recalled the past events. "Oh yeah! I remember now. Cliff, wasn't it? He was going to help us find Meowth!" He sighed. "Meowth...gee, he's probably out there all _alone_...so weak and defenseless...poor Meowth..."

"Pfft...and what do we look like?" Jessie asked sarcastically. "We aren't exactly SuperPooch and WonderShinx if you know what I mean."

"I know, I know. But...he's got nobody. No food, no shelter, no zilch. I miss him already."

Jessie tossed her shoulders. "Yeah, yeah...I admit, I miss the little furball too, and it hasn't even been a day yet. We better start talking business with Fire Weasel to help us get our Meowth back."

"Yeah, the sooner the better." James had to agree. "I'm already sick of being a pokemon. It feels strange going around naked all the time...without pants...and only having skin for pockets..."

"Heh, not to mention those weird looking pupils of yours." teased Jessie.

James whined. "There is nothing wrong with my pupils!" he repeated for a second time.

"They're all loopy, just like your brain." she laughed.

"Stoppit!" he cried. He was about to argue something back when he caught onto a scent. His little pink nose twitched. "Hey, is that...what is that smell?"

"Oh, right. That." Jessie remarked, surprised at how she had let herself be distracted from it in the first place. "I think there's something rather tasty waiting for us outside. Don't know where it came from exactly, but we're rouges, right? If we're lucky, we might be able to steal a little bit of whatever it is."

"Yeah! Sounds good!" James agreed in excitement.

The smell was indeed, coming from right outside. Cliff was sitting underneath the warm morning sun, organising a large array of items in what seemed to be some kind of toolbox. He stacked a couple blue orbs in a nice, neat fashion and placed round, CD-looking things called TMs in a snug order on the other side.

"Hmm...TM Avalanche." he murmured as he picked up one TM and looked at it as if considering whether to keep it or not. "Doesn't look like I'll be using this soon...that is unless, I recruit a ice pokemon or such. But useful, nonetheless." He looked at the TM and shrugged, placing it back with the others and continued picking through the small suitcase.

Jessie and James peeked out from inside. Behind Cliff was a pile of apples, all chopped and ready to be eaten. And since he seemed pretty well distracted at the moment, it looked like the perfect opportunity for the planned thievery. On Jessie's signal, both of them approached from separate sides and began to walk towards the beloved apple pile.

"Oh, and two pecha scarfs? Nah, we don't need _that_ many. I'll just dump this one." Cliff decided, tossing the unwanted article of clothing a good distance behind him. He tucked the other one safely into a pocket with a joy scarf and power band. "There we go. That should do nicely. Now, what about the seeds? Oh, and the gummis. Not much as filling as those apples but but a good snack I must say. Black, yellow and red gummis would be a nice match-up as far as types go. The other flavours...heh, I'll bring those into storage for later."

Jessie and James, who had not been very interested in the slightest of what Cliff was talking about, were more psyched about the fresh fruit laid in front of them. They had guided themselves easily to the little feast and had begun to grab a few at a time, tucking them into their arms and into what seemed to be their pockets. They were almost done packing their goodies when they heard Cliff exclaim, "Ah! So you sleeping slowpokes decided to get up after all. Mornin'!"

Both had dropped the stolen grub back onto the ground in surprise. "Yeah, yeah, very nice." Jessie replied, annoyed for having been disrupted at the point of success. "Could you just...you know...get back to what you're doing, or something? James and I have some important business to attend to."

"Oh?" Cliff inquired, lifting an eyebrow. "And what would that be, hm?"

James beamed. "We're stealing your apples!" He managed to burst out before Jessie tackled him to the ground, once again clamping both paws over his not-so-secretive mouth.

"Haha. Well, I must admit, you were on a pretty good roll there." Cliff remarked, watching the two tackle each other like it was no one's business, though Jessie was doing a better job of it. "But you know you don't have to sneak up like that. These apples are for you."

Jessie's ears perked and she stopped in mid-tackle, laying a paw on the shinx's forehead to enable him from getting up. "You mean..."

"Of course! We're a team now." Cliff stated. "I've already eaten, and well...I had enough time on my paws to make some breakfast for you two before you decided to wander out of bed. You're totally welcome to help yourselves!"

"Mmm, hear that, James?" she asked the partner underneath her feet. "Looks like we got off easy this time." She tossed her head. "But next time you blow it for us, I'm not going easy on you. Okay?"

"Okey." he squeaked. "But can we eat now? I'm hungry!"

"OK, fine, fine, have an apple." She grabbed a large apple and stuffed it in his mouth. "Happy now?"

James nodded eagerly and pulled the apple from where it was stuck between his teeth and began taking smaller, quicker bites whilst laying on his back. Jessie finally left her spot from on top of her teammate and grabbed two, one in each paw, and began taking turns biting into the two of them.

Those two sure had an odd relationship. Cliff shook his head in amusement and returned to the last of his tidying with the strange suitcase. After double checking to make sure he had everything, he closed it up nice and tight and then polished his necklace before letting it hang limply around his neck.

"Hey Cliff...whaff's that?" asked James with a full mouth, his curious eyes on the suitcase.

"Oh." said Cliff with a smile. "Glad you asked. That, my friend, would be our Rescue Team kit. We're going to need it to carry all the items we need while we're on on adventures." He smoothed his paw over the smooth exterior of the case. "This one in particular was the very kit I used when I used to be in my own rescue team long ago. It holds a lot of memories."

The electric type shrugged in satisfaction and returned to licking away the remainder of the apple's core.

Jessie swallowed what she had been chewing. "You know, that's what I wanted to talk to you about." She tossed away the apple cores and advanced toward him. "Look, I know you're a nice guy and all, but I don't think this is all gonna work out. See, I'm not sure if you're aware, but James and I don't have time to hang around like this." She looked to the pokemon, who was at the moment slurping at his sticky fingers. "Our friend has gone missing and we must go look for him immediately. Maybe we can make an appointment or something, but right now we really should be going. Thanks for housing us for the time being, but...ya know, we were bound to leave soon anyway." She grabbed James off the ground by the wrist and pulled him up. "We'll be leaving, now." She informed him, quiet enough that the quilava didn't hear.

James blinked, confused. "Where?"

"To look for Meowth, of course."

"But...Cliff promised us he would help find Meowth."

"Oh yeah? And what's your point?"

James smiled cheekily. "He's got food."

"Hmm...so?"

"And he's strong. And nice. And...and...he's got food!"

Jessie sighed. "I guess you're right. But James, he wants us to join him on some kind of rescue team. I mean, it's almost a disgrace, asking members of Team Rocket to do such a thing. Is it really worth it?"

"Well...it's for Meowth, Jess." he replied, searching for the right words in which to explain. "You remember what Cliff said. He said that the places here are abundant in strong pokemon. We're no match for them, you and I. All we can do is trust Cliff. Everything and anything we decide to do...it's because we're doing it for Meowth, you know..."

Jessie seemed a bit surprised. "Wow," she proclaimed, looking at him seriously. "That has got to be the wisest thing I've heard you say in about a week."

"...and because he's got food."

Jessie sweatdropped. "Okay, that just ruined it." she sighed, as if expectingly. "Anyway, you want to stay with this weasel or not?"

"Mmmmm." He nodded and began licking his fingers again.

"For heaven's sake, stop that! It's annoying!" Jessie demanded, yanking him by the other wrist that wasn't already in her possession. By now, Cliff had started to become confused about the little conversation he was being let out of and scratched his head to show it.

"Hey, you two alright?"

Jessie and James turned around with a look on surprise on their faces, as if they hadn't expected the quilava to still be standing there. Jessie let go of James--who continued sucking on his fingers--and laughed nervously. "Oh yeah! Just fine...perfectly fine. Everything's good here!"

Cliff sweatdropped. "Uh-huh. So I take it you guys want to go off on your own?" he asked, sounding disappointed. "'Cos if you do...I mean..."

"Oh, no! We don't wanna leave _you_, Cliff!" James shouted, jumping to his feet. "We made a deal, remember? We won't leave! **Never! **Isn't that right, Jessie?" He gave her a nudge.

"Oh...right." She grunted. It was their only choice, really. If they didn't stick with Cliff, they'd get finished by the stronger pokemon before they even reached Meowth, or found out how to return to the normal world.

"But...what about what you said before?"

"Eh...forget that." Jessie said with a wave of her paw. "James is...surprisingly right...for once. We made a deal last night. A deal's a deal."

Cliff smiled, seemingly satisfied at her decision. "Good! Then come with me!" He grabbed the suitcase and trudged to his right, and Jessie and James instinctively followed.

"Where are we going?" asked an eager James.

"Town Square. To become an official rescue team, of course."

"But...Fire Weasel..." Jessie stated suspiciously. "Didn't you say you were already a part of one of these so-called rescue teams?"

"Well...yeah." Cliff answered. "I _was_. But a year ago, I disbanded from the team and decided to live on my own. We have to re-register." He stopped and eyed both new recruits with a look of worry. "Listen, you guys really have to stop walking like that."

Jessie and James looked at each other and then themselves, after which they sighed in exasperation. They sunk down to the ground all all fours once more, feeling quite uncomfortable.

Cliff chuckled. "You'll have to get used to it sometime. It's now or never."

Jessie sighed again. "OK, OK. Come on, let's just get this over with."

"Haha! That's the spirit!"

...

It didn't take long for the three of them to make it to what was known as Town Square. It was a very short walk and the weather was nice. However...Town Square didn't seem so nice, or at least as nice as Cliff had remembered it to be.

"Wow...no offense, but this place is a dump." Jessie exclaimed after looking it over. Boxes were everywhere around the empty stands--the empty, broken, crippled stands. Jessie and James suspected they must have once been little kiosks the other townspokemon used for their convenience back in the day. Anywho, whatever it used to be in the past didn't matter. The place was torn, old and ragged. The only life around the place appeared to be the not-so chipper salespokemon packing their things in boxes, and a couple passerbys like themselves, chatting softly with each other as they hung around the abandoned town.

"Yeah...w-what happened to this place?" James stammered, amazed.

Cliff put down his toolbox. "Like I've said before, the town is going under major construction. Though they look quite busy at the moment, it looks like they're still open for business."

Jessie mumbled something inaudibly to herself alone the lines of "hoping they wouldn't be open for business so they could screw this rescue team junk, find Meowth and beat the heck out of the place". As she and the other two sat, surveying the empty town, someone approached them without their noticing.

"Hullo. Welcome to Town Square!"

All three pairs of eyes locked on the creature from where the voice came from. The pokemon that had spoke could be described as having bluish-green skin, red padded feet and a large green leaf atop its head. The other pokemon standing next to it was a pokemon Jessie--and James especially--were quite familiar with. Another grass type, this one was yellow with large pink lips, two thick green leaves sprouting from its sides and a tiny nub of a stem forming from its cranium.

"I take it you must be travelers." stated the pokemon with the large leaf on its head. "It's embarrassing...this place is completely in ruins. It should be remodeled soon, but please, excuse the mess. My name is Lombre by the way, and this is Weepinbell. Once again...welcome to Town Square!"

"Haha. Hey, Lombre. You haven't changed a bit." exclaimed Cliff casually.

"Why, no...no, I haven't. I'm not one for change, see, but..." Lombre stopped for a second and looked at Cliff, this time in surprise. He looked him over, a wave of shock over his face. "Wait...that necklace..."

"Hm?"

"You're...you're...CLIFF!" The pokemon threw his arms around the quilava, causing him to step back a little from the force. "Oh, dude! I can't believe you're back! It's been...it's been so _long_!" He squeezed Cliff even tighter before letting go to allow the old friend to regain his breath.

Cliff laughed, breathing hard after the fierce hug given to him by Lombre. "Haha, yup...it's me. Great to see you again, Lombre." he chuckled. "And oh, Bellsprout has evolved into Weepinbell since I've been gone too--I'm so happy for him!" He paused and glanced at the empty spot where the disappearing pokemon had last been standing. "Wait, where is he anyway?"

There were a couple muffled screams from behind them and Cliff and Lombre turned around to see exactly where they were coming from. Weepinbell was indeed, right behind them with James sticking halfway out of his mouth with only his rump exposed and his stumpy black legs struggling to get free--thus, where the screams were coming from. Jessie just sat nearby, shaking her head, not looking very amused by the whole ordeal.

"Holy guacamole!" yelled Lombre, shaking his arms in the air. "Weepinbell, get a hold of yourself, dude! How many times have I told you not to eat the visitors?!"

Weepinbell spit James onto the ground, his whole head dripping with wet saliva. "Oops. Sorry, man."

"It's OK..." James breathed, sweatdropping. "I'm kinda used to...getting my head eaten..."

After a couple seconds of awkward silence, Cliff spoke up again. "Oh yeah, I guess I haven't introduced you guys yet. Lombre and Weepinbell, I'd like you to meet my new friends, Jessie and James. I met them yesterday in Tiny Woods." He gestured a paw toward the two of them as he said it.

"Oh, so you've just met? That's just like you, Cliff, making friends so easily!" chirped Weepinbell.

A fake cough came from Jessie's throat. "Well, we're not really friends, per say. More like...acquaintances..." She coughed again.

Cliff managed a smile. "Alright, acquaintances..."

Lombre leaped in front of the trio. "Hey! What am I thinking? Cliff himself has returned here, right in the flesh and the public doesn't even know yet!"

Weepinbell's eyes widened, if they could even more than they already were. "Yeah, like Granbull! Oh, and Caterpie...oh, he's missed you so! And...and Whiscash!" He bounced excitedly, for it's all he could accomplish with the lack of legs for the part.

Cliff's face shone with a homesick smile. "Wow, I never thought how wonderful it would be to see you all after so long! I'd be...I'd be mighty grateful to see everybody again!"

James looked confused. "What's going on? Is Cliff famous or something?"

Jessie looked at her dumbstruck partner. Obviously, all the fuss over Cliff's sudden "return" was enough to have the newcomers forgotten and ignored in an instant. "Who knows? Maybe he's just friends with everybody or something." She rolled her eyes. "But I don't get what his deal is. Are we going to look for Meowth or take a stroll down memory lane? Seriously, James, this is all a big waste of time. Staying with this guy was a bad idea. Let's go." She turned around and began leaving without him.

"Well...I guess you could be right." he admitted.

Jessie stopped. "I _could _be?" she asked suspiciously.

"Oh, oh! I mean, you _are _right." James quickly corrected himself as to keep himself from plummeted by a large mallet. "But, I mean...we haven't even given this place a chance yet, really. And the pokemon here all seem very friendly!"

"Yeah...one of them tried to eat your head."

James sweatdropped once more at this.

Jessie sighed. "Look, I must agree with you, Fire Weasel has been very hospitable and we have been receiving the kindness and warmth that we would have never had when we were in Team Rocket. But honestly, we must try to focus on Meowth. Sure, the weasel has promised to help find him, but how long is that going to take? And yeah, he also claims there are tons of these so-called _super strong _pokemon...well, so be it. Meowth is more important than that anyway. (not to mention getting out of this place -cough-!) And...psh, come on. We're Team Rocket. We take risks for the things we want. It's what we do."

James shrugged, defeated. "Hm...I guess you're right."

"You _guess_?"

James started to sweat. "Aye! I mean...uh...you **ARE** right!" He countered, laughing nervously.

"Of course." Jessie had to reply. She looked back at Cliff and the leaf types to make sure they weren't watching as they made their escape. "OK, they're still distracted." she announced in relief. "Let's go quickly so they don't suspect anything until we're long gone."

James nodded and the two of them crouched down and began sneaking away, staring behind them at the three chattering pokemon and not watching exactly where they were going until they were stopped by a blockade in their path. They looked up slowly and flinched as a bigger pokemon with white claws and fangs smiled down upon them.

"So what do we have here?"

"Ah, Kangaskhan! It's been a while since I saw you!" came Cliff's voice from behind their backs. "Those are my two new buddies, Jessie and James! They're traveling with me!"

Jessie and James each twitched an eye, realising they had just been discovered and their escape plan had ended up as a failure, much like other plans in their past.

The brown kangaroo pokemon squealed in delight. "Oh, they're adorable, Cliff!" she mused. "So, **so** adorable! I just want to squeeze the life out of 'em!" Before the poochyena or shinx could figure out what was happening, both were scooped up between the large muscular arms and brought up to her chest before...well, getting the life squeezed out of them. "Aw, just look at the sweet little faces! How cute! **So **cute!" The other pokemon watching could actually hear their bones cracking before both were set back onto the ground in exhaustion, sweatdropping merely from the experience.

"Oh, great...more friends." Jessie whispered to herself in a sarcastic tone.

"Wow, I just cannot believe it! This is so great Cliff!" said a green kecleon to the quilava. "You were our best customer! We missed you! We missed you!"

"Yeah..." agreed a purple kecleon next to the green one. "It almost makes me...want to cry!" He began sniffling into the other kecleon's shoulder.

"Oh, brother!" shouted the green kecleon, and they both started holding each other, crying showers of joy.

"Why yes, it's nice to see you again before I retire." purred a persain, also looking affectionately to Cliff. "I've been jealously looking after your money the whole time you were gone, dear."

A pink pokemon with long ears jumped in anticipation. "Yay! Yay! Welcome back, Cliff! You'll always be our friend! And you have other nice friends too! We're all friends, friend!"

"Oh, Wigglytuff..." stammered Cliff. He looked around at the group of pokemon surrounding them. "And Kangaskhan, Persain, Lombre, Weepinbell...everybody...I...I...I'm so happy...thank you..."

"And don't forget about Granbull!" piped a large purple dog pokemon who had also gathered along with the others. Everyone laughed, except for Jessie and James, who were still busy recovering from all the hubbub going on in what had first looked like a deserted town square. All that sentimental and emotional talk between the pokemon was starting to become a little too much for Jessie, who released a big, long sigh. "OK, are we done yet?" she mumbled in a bored tone. All the pokemon stopped and chuckled, calming down a little bit.

"Hm, well your friend there's got a point." said a gulpin. "Why did you come here anyway, Cliff?"

The entire group now had their eyes fixed on Cliff. "Well..." he started. "Last night, after meeting up with Jessie and James, we made a little decision. After thinking it over, we all agreed it would be an appropriate thing to do. The three of us are going to band together and become a new rescue team."

The pokemon, who were once calmed down, starting going crazy again. Jessie and James eyed each other, once again wondering what the big deal was.

"I don't get it...why is this so exciting to them?" asked James to Jessie.

Jessie sighed. "Who knows? But I'm sick of all this public attention Fire Weasel is getting from these townsfolk. He's making it sound like we _want _to join him on one of his little rescue teams. It's just silly."

"Yeah, it makes no sense..." James trailed, not sure of what else to say.

Another new voice appeared out of nowhere. "Did I hear someone say they would like to register for a rescue team?"

Jessie groaned and slid down onto her stomach. "Kill us now." she mumbled.

"Oh yes, Pelipper." Cliff turned around again, almost as if expectingly. "I should have come to tell you a little earlier, but my friends and I wanted to get started right away. Sorry if we just happened to appear suddenly out of nowhere, but--"

"Ah, no worries, no worries. Just to see you here, Cliff is enough for me and everybody else for that matter." laughed the bird with what looked like a mailbag under his wing.

"Speaking of which," started Gulpin. "What have you been doing while you were gone?"

"Yes...yes...you've left us wondering for months, darling." added Persain.

"Lots of adventures? Journeys? Games?" guessed Wigglytuff. The whole gang of pokemon began to cave in on the trio in excitement, asking their own questions about the fire type as if he were a famous celebrity or rockstar. Jessie continued muttering to herself, seemingly irritated and James began looking around and sweating, getting uneasy pangs of claustrophobia.

"Guys! Guys!" shouted Lombre. He extended his arms out as a signal for everyone to back away, which they did, calming down as doing so. "Please, give Cliff and his friends a little room here! There will be plenty of time to get his autograph and ask him questions, but right now he has his own affairs to take care of." He walked to the other side and shooed the couple of pokemon away. "Now please, back away for just a second, alright?"

Pelipper nodded his head to Lombre in approval. "Good, thank you. Now, everyone listen to Lombre and return back to remodeling your posts. Cliff will return shortly, but in the meantime the rest of you will just have to chill, OK?" The group of pokemon sighed and returned back to what they were doing before Cliff wandered into the town square. Once everyone seemed situated, Pelipper nodded again, this time to Cliff and his two new friends. "So Cliff, I understand you want to go back into the rescuing business, eh?"

"Yup."

"What made you change your mind about having a rescue team?"

"Well, I guess...I don't know. It's been lonely. I miss the adventures, the excitement...and the wide open dungeons!" He clenched his fist. "I mean, just thinking about it gets my blood pumping!"

"Haha! Well, that's good enough reason for me. Come, we'll get registered straight away." He hopped forward with Cliff behind him when he realised Jessie and James were not following. "Hey! You two! Come along now."

James gave his partner a pleading smile and she grumbled, knowing what was coming. "You still want to do this, don't you?" she whispered.

"Aw, don't worry. It'll be fun!" came his reply.

She got up and rolled her eyes. _OK, so even James is becoming brainwashed by this insanity, _she thought to herself. _Or maybe he's just playing along? Ooh, right...this could work. All we have to do is __fake through this and as soon as Fire Weasel turns his back again, we'll take the golden opportunity to escape and look for Meowth ourselves...and finally return home. Perfect! _She smiled, knowing her plan could very well work and decided to put it into action, faking her way as she went. "Alright, alright. We're coming!" She announced, and the two of them sided with Cliff and the postal carrier. James seemed a bit surprised at her sudden burst of enthusiasm but was happy nonetheless.

"Great!" exclaimed the overly-jolly bird pokemon, and the trio followed him to their destination. Pelipper winked down at both the dark and electric type as they went. "I must say, you two are very lucky to have a chance like this. Out of all the pokemon Cliff himself would choose for his new rescue team, he chose you. Simply marvelous...to tell you the truth, I'm quite jealous!"

James's green eyes sparkled. "Really? He's that famous?"

Cliff just laughed. "Oh, stop that Pelipper." he teased. "There are plenty of other pokemon out there who are a lot more well-known than I. And besides, the three of us don't have to operate alone. Anybody will be welcome to join the team." He tossed his shoulders casually. "Jessie and James will just be my second in command, that's all."

The postman flapped his wings. "Aye, Cliff! I'm so envious!"

"Pelipper, really...don't be." advised Cliff. "I'm just a pokemon, like you and everybody else here. Nothing makes me any more special than anyone else. Why, with the persistent and dedicated training, any pokemon can become as strong as they dream of being!"

"Heh...training. Why yes." said the Pelipper, not to excited over the thought. "You know, I think I'll just have to stick with delivering mail and organising rescue teams for now."

Cliff just shook his head in amusement and stopped in front of a building shaped like a Pelipper. "Well, we're here." he said. Flocks of the large-billed pokemon flew out from the opening in the Pelipper-shaped building, each carrying mail underneath his wing.

"It's called the Pelipper Post Office." explained the post carrier to Jessie and James as they stared awkwardly at the establishment. "Usually, this will be the place where you will apply for rescue missions and send mail to other teams. But today, you'll be registering, so we'll go over everything you need to know as we feel necessary to do so." The four of them then entered the post office without another word.

Unlike most buildings Jessie and James were used to, this one looked to have a giant hole in the ceiling where the light and heat from the sun radiated down upon. The pelippers with mailbags used the giant gap to fly out and deliver their mail, thus the reason for its existence. There was also a counter with three more of the bird pokemon lined behind them. They seemed to be on their lunch break, because they were all gnawing on berries with their large beaks whilst striking conversation with one another. Cliff, Jessie, James and the postal carrier approached, looking up over the counter.

"Excuse me, I hope this isn't a bad time guys..." trailed the postal carrier. The three pelippers behind the counter turned to them.

"Oh, not at all. What are your friends in here for?" asked the one in the middle, pointing her wing towards the three traveling with him.

"Ah. Cliff's back, and he wants to register for a new rescue team." the mail-pelipper explained. "Phil, you can take care of these three, can't you?"

The pelipper to the left wiped some berry juice off his beak. "Of course."

The postal carrier bowed. "Alright, they're all yours then." He turned to the trio before leaving. "Hey, good luck with that rescue team, Cliff. See you guys around."

"Bye Pelipper!" Cliff yelled, waving as the flying type took off out the crevice in the ceiling before drifting his attention back to the pelipper named Phil behind the counter. "Alright, so...the name's Cliff. I've been part of a rescue team before, so I should already be in the computer."

Phil blinked. "I see. Let me check to see if we've got you in." He pulled the keyboard of his computer up to wings-length and began typing a little bit before looking back at Cliff. "Oh, yes! You were that cyndaquil who registered six-hundred and eighty-four days ago for Rescue Team Eternal, am I right?"

Cliff nodded, looking quite sad at the mention of his old team's name. "Yup, that was me, all right."

Phil pushed his glasses back up his beak. "Yes, well...I don't know if you're aware, but Team Eternal no longer exists. So you wish to register for a new team now?"

"Yeah."

"Alright. I'll register you for a brand new rescue team right away." Phil typed some more on his computer. "What would you like the new team's name to be?"

Cliff tapped his fingers on the counter, obviously deep in thought. He gazed down at Jessie and James and then scratched his head. "I think I'll leave that to my friends."

James, who was busy gnawing at his arm, looked back at Cliff suddenly. "Huh? What are we doing?"

Cliff sighed, realising they had not been paying attention at all. "Guys, we're registering for a new rescue team. I can't think of a good name, so do you two have any ideas?"

"And...what kind of name, exactly?" Jessie asked, not sounding particularly interested.

"Well, I don't know. It can be anything." Cliff replied. "But make it good, because it will be our official team name once they get it into the computer. It doesn't have to be too fancy either, just a nice good name that represents who we are, I guess..."

"A team name?" James inquired.

"That represents who we are?" Jessie added. She and James both looked at each other mischievously as if one knew exactly what the other was thinking.

Cliff studied them for a second. "So? Any thoughts?"

Jessie and James were silent for a little while longer, then the two of them clashed their fists with each other and shouted in loud voices, "TEAM ROCKET!"

"Team...Rocket?" asked Cliff, a little confused on how they both thought of such a random team name at the same time. "You think that would represent us well? I mean, do you think it suits us?"

Jessie smirked. "More than you know."

"TEAM ROCKET! YEAH! SPEED OF LIGHT!" screamed James.

"Hey, keep it down a little." Cliff lectured softly. "People are staring..."

"Hehe. Sorry."

Cliff turned back to Phil at the counter. "Right. So, Team Rocket it is."

Phil took this on cue and typed it up on his little computer. "OK, so you...your name is Cliff, right?"

"Correct."

"And your friends?"

"Jessie is the poochyena and James is the shinx." Cliff told the bird pokemon, who continued typing up the information on his laptop. "Okay, okay. So let me get this straight. Team Rocket is your name and your members include Cliff the quilava, Jessie the poochyena and James the shinx?"

"Yeah."

"OK, good." Phil finished typing up the registration form on his computer. "Now, you're completely registered! What colour bandannas would you like?"

"Bandannas?" asked James.

Cliff turned to him. "Yes. All rescue teams wear coordinated bandannas to symbolise to other pokemon that they are a rescue team. They have all kinds of colours..."

"OOH! We should get pink! Yeah! Hot pink!" James hollered.

"NO." Cliff and Jessie almost said in perfect sync before the fire pokemon resumed his conversation with Phil. "We'll just take white, I guess..."

"White? Aw, how boring!" James whined, before getting smacked by his annoyed partner.

"OK, white." repeated Phil. "Good, thank you for registering. It looks like you've already got a toolbox from your old rescue team, so we'll just send you your team badges and bandannas in the mail. I know that pelipper who brought you here knows you well, Cliff. He can come deliver them to you, so we don't need your shipping address. Anyway, thanks again for registering! Expect to get your things tomorrow morning and get on with the rescuing!"

Cliff smiled. "Great!" He began walking away with Jessie and James, giving the two more time to speak to each other privately.

"So, now that we have this done, I guess Cliff's gotta go help us find Meowth now." James said.

"Yeah, he better." Jessie growled. "He promised us he would, and I am **not **going to do all this for nothing. I just want to get Meowth and beat the heck out of here. I don't plan to waste any more time dealing with this nonsense..."

"Well, I guess doing all this rescue stuff isn't all _that bad_." James admitted hesitantly. Jessie began giving him a stare that read "are you CRAZY?" James just cleared his throat nervously. "I mean...well, we get cool, shiny badges and...a pretty blue toolbox and, and...we get to be famous!"

"Hm, famous you say?"

"Well...sure. Cliff's famous, isn't he?"

Jessie thought it over. "Well, even though we're stuck in this world full of pokemon, I guess a little bit of fame wouldn't hurt. And just for being in a rescue team alone? Ha!"

"I know! It's ridiculous!" James chuckled.

"Ha! I'm telling you James, rescue teams are nothing more than an easy way to get instantly popular...and RICH! I mean, what do rescue teams even have to do anyway?"

James shrugged. "Beats me."

Both of them laughed and walked together with Cliff, when all of a sudden, the lombre from the square burst into the room. "Cliff! Cliff!" He shouted, thrusting his arms into the air. He ran up to the fire type as soon as he found him. "Oh, Cliff! Thank heavens you're still here!"

"What's wrong?" asked the quilava.

Lombre panted, letting out some of his breath. "Down in Town Square! There's trouble!"

Jessie's eyes widened as soon as she heard the magic word. "Trouble?"

"Double trouble?" asked James, just as excited.

"Yeah, guys!" Cliff replied. "There's trouble in the square. We have to do something!"

Jessie and James looked and each other and nodded, both seeming to be thinking with identical minds.

"...guys?" Cliff asked, puzzled.

Jessie and James looked up at him and grinned widely. "Don't worry Cliff, we know just what to do." Jessie informed him and walked with James following suit.

"But...what?" Cliff asked again.

"Just follow our lead, Cliff!" James assured, and the two of them disappeared outside.

Cliff just stood there, still scratching the back of his head. "Wow, those two sure seem eager to do this."

Lombre put a webbed hand on Cliff's shoulder. "Well, what are you waiting for, Cliff? You've got to go help! The townspokemon aren't strong enough to take them down! You and your team are all we've got!"

"Oh! Right." Cliff said, getting back on track. He ran out after his two teammates.

"Hey, Jessie! James! Wait up!"

...

_Holy cow! I got this chapter done! YAY! I sincerely apologise, but ever since summer vacation started--which wasn't even a week yet, mind you--I've been lazier than a floppy buttermilk pancake laying in the frying pan without any exposure to syrup or the likes. I also apoligise for another not-so exciting chapter and evil cliffhanger, but you know, beginnings have to happen if you want to get to the good parts. :P (wait, I'm still on the beginning? -dies-) This chapter also went on a little longer than I expected, but that's partly because Cliff was meeting up with all his old friends and everything...which took up another good couple of pages, I think. I may update on MTR before I update on this, but I dunno...this fic has been a lot more fun to write, so we'll just have to see. Anyway, me going out again...have a happy summer everyone! Stay cool. B)_


	7. Test of Strength

**Disclaimer: Just the other day, something occurred to me...what's the point in putting up disclaimers that don't even make sense? Can't I just put the same old "I DON'T FRICKIN' OWN POKEMON" on every chapter like everyone else? Ugh...the need...for abnormality... /**

_Haha, I would have LOVED to...you know, end that cliffhanger on the other chapter...but I wanted to torture you more because I'm evil like that. EHEHEHEHE! :P So I'm guessing you were wondering what was going on with our dear Meowth...and Flower, of course. Well, you're about to find out...so with that in mind...R.E.A.D. :3_

...

"Meowth, get up."

"Grrrrrrrroooommmmpphhhhhhh..."

"Get up, I say."

"Mrrrrrrrowwwwwwllll..."

"Come on, cat...I'm warnin' ya. Get up now, before I have to use force."

Meowth grumbled again, tossing his face back into the pillow. "Five more minutes." he mumbled, waving his paw in the air to get rid of whatever was disturbing him from his peaceful slumber. "Jus' five more minutes...five more minutes..." His voice trailed off as he wrapped his arms tighter around the pillow, not at all willing to let it go.

"Meowth, please." came a feminine voice, in which he quickly registered was Flower. "Dameon's getting a tad impatient, I think."

"A tad?!" growled the gruff male voice beside hers. "I've already wasted a three good minutes of time trying to wake the guy up! This is all so pointless!"

"Dameon..."

Due to Meowth's disobedience, the ghost type now began lifting the sleeping cat into the air using some kind of psychics.

"Mmmm...cinnamon swirl..." he muttered, tossing around for a while until he noticed something strangely different--it appeared both his blanket and pillow seemed to have disappeared completely. His arms began searching in the empty air for the lost belongings, but after not finding anything, he opened his large eyes to see where the heck they went. "What...? Blanket...pillow..." he mumbled as if still in a dream. The psychic powers continued lifting him so high, he hit the ceiling. At this point, the dumbstruck feline finally realised he was no longer on the ground and was now twirling in the air as if the world had suddenly lost its gravity. After a few seconds to absorb this information, Meowth did the only thing he could possibly think of doing at that very moment in time.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!"

His scream filled the small room, which only followed by more spinning. He started struggling fiercely to release the grip the powers had on his body, but to no avail. "Lemme down, lemme down, would'ya?!" he cried out, his helpless body circling above the tiny room.

"Ack! I think he's up now, Dameon!" Flower quickly told the gengar as a large sweatdrop slowly rolled down the side of her head.

The purple pokemon just grinned, a large, toothy smile stretching across most of his face. He moved both paws to the left in sync, in which Meowth's body quickly followed suit, hopelessly controlled by the psychic powers. Meowth scanned the area around him, back and forth, wondering what was going to happen next. Then, with a sudden whip of the ghost's paws, Meowth fell right out of the sky and landed in a crumpled heap in front of both pokemon--and not to mention, causing a pretty big crash in the process. Flower winced at seeing this and ran up to aid her new friend.

"Meowth...you okay?"

The cat managed to lift his head from some rubble that looked to be a piece of the room's wooden floor. "Now dat's da kind of wake-up call I wasn't hopin' for..." he mumbled. He groaned and his head slammed back into the floor, probably signaling that he wasn't yet ready for the new day to begin. Flower just chuckled, her vines protruding from her sides and grabbing Meowth's arms to help him up.

Dameon shook his head in amusement. "You know, Calix doesn't very well like to be kept waiting, so unless you want to see him angry, my advice would be to start pulling yourselves together." he warned, before flipping what seemed to be a bit of stray fur out of his eyes. "Besides, breakfast is getting cold and I doubt either of you want to start out your day on a rather disappointing note..."

Meowth's ears perked almost immediately. "Breakfast? Ya mean dey soive food here?"

Flower looked at Meowth in confusion, almost certain that he had been aware of the fact.

Dameon shrugged in response to Meowth. "Well, yeah. Eggs, pancakes, berries...the works. What, do you think we go around starving every day?" He laughed.

Meowth gasped in sudden realisation as if something in his brain just clicked. "Oh, boy! I remember now! Da Cafe! I gotta go downstairs and get me some grub!" Before either Flower or Dameon could protest, Meowth had jumped to his two feet and shot himself straight down the hall quicker than a thunderbolt attack.

Dameon sweatdropped. "Well, _someone's _enthusiastic..."

Flower just smiled. "Yeah, I better go catch up with him before he gets himself into trouble." she raced towards the door. "Thanks Dameon!"

The ghost-type shrugged. "No problamo. That's what I'm here for, isn't it?" He said through a giant set of teeth stretching across the perimeter of his face. Flower left, and he smiled even larger. "And now...for Charizard..." His grin continued to consume his face as he brought out a large pail of water from out of nowhere and trudged into the fire type's room in pursuit of awakening the beast.

Meanwhile, Flower had stumbled into the hallway, making her way to the cafeteria. It wasn't too difficult a task of course, as she knew the entire HQ (excluding the off-limit areas) like the back of her teal-coloured paw. She was mainly concerned about Meowth, hoping he didn't get himself lost in the large building. Since she was, in a sense, somewhat like an assistant to Meowth, she felt she might as well be held responsible if she lost him and could possibly get punished by the higher authorities if she wasn't careful.

Still, she couldn't help but smile at his mischief, a lot like her own when she first came to live with the scientists at the HQ. "Oh, Meowth..." she whispered, shaking her head in amusement as she bounded down the hallway.

The cafeteria was never really a long way off. She came to the clearing in no less than a couple minutes and sighed in relief to see that Meowth had indeed, found his way to the correct destination. _Well, I guess the smell of food could lead anyone into the right direction, _she thought, and laughed. She padded on in and grabbed a seat next to the cat in front of a long table. At the moment, he was busily gorging his way into a large stack of pancakes and didn't seem to notice the ivysaur sitting curiously at his side. That is, until she spoke up.

"How's breakfast?" she asked.

Meowth almost choked due to surprise, holding a paw to his throat to help the food make its way down the narrow hatch. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like dat!" he cried, still coughing.

Flower flinched, taken aback. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she hastily apologised, her ears instantly flattening against her head.

"Hey, I didn't mean it like dat, kid! Sheesh, yer actin' like ya just committed a crime or someting!" Meowth grabbed a glass of orange juice and took a couple gulps of the quenching liquid to help wash down the remains of pancake. Then he smacked his lips and looked to the leaf-type pokemon, wondering why she just sat there and stared at him like that. He tapped his fingers on the table, not sure of what to say. "Hey, uhh...ya want some?" he offered after a little bit, pushing the remains of his breakfast in front of her.

Flower's face seemed to brighten up completely. "Sure!" she squealed in pleasure, and without a thought to spare, she dug her face into the pancakes and began eating--much to Meowth surprise--in quite a messily manner.

Meowth leaned back in his chair watching Flower eat, mostly thinking off to himself again. _It must've been ages since I've had such a delicious meal, _he realised, a paw resting gently on his stomach. _I neva knew how awfully good it felt ta be...well, ta be "not hungry"! _He smiled in satisfaction, wiping some drips of maple syrup off his whiskers. Yes, it did feel different...but great, too. Having his belly filled completely to the top was something he rarely got to experience as most of the time he'd never really get the chance to eat so much in one measly serving. And the food itself--wow! It awed him to no end! The taste of those buttermilk pancakes was one he'd been drooling over for years and it was only until now when he finally got to savor it. He couldn't express how happy he was as he sat there after being part of such a scrumptious and filling meal. But then he frowned, again thinking about his friends he had to leave behind. _Aw, I sure wish Jessie and James were here to share dese pancakes with me...I bet dey would'a enjoyed it just as much as I have..._ He shook his head quickly. _Stop doin' dis, Meowth! You can tink about dem later, but right now you have ta focus on da mission, da mission ta save da woild! _He put his head in his paws and sighed pitifully as he remembered the rigorous training he was going to get. It was going to be hard to explain that he didn't know any powers, but it would have to come out at some point...he just wished it didn't have to be so complicated.

Flower heard his sigh and turned her head away from the pancakes. "You okay, Meowth?"

"Hoih?" He looked at her, almost surprised that she was there, then moved his eyes back down to the floor again. "Eh, I'm fine. Just tinking some more I guess..."

Flower shrugged and continued eating and Meowth continued thinking. _Hmmm, it still makes me wonder what kinda mission dis is anyway, _he quired. _Maybe I hafta fight a big, strong legendary or somethin', like Lugia, Suicune, Moltres or even dat Mewtwo, _Meowth began to nervously sweat at the thought. _Oh gee, I hope not!_

His pondering was--once again--interrupted by the speech of another. "You two finished with that?" Meowth and Flower looked up and spied a nidorina with chef's toque, offering to take the empty plate of pancakes off their paws.

"Oh, yes, Nidorina. Thank you." Flower replied, sliding the plate to the poison pokemon, thus allowing her to pick up the scraps.

"Eh, no problem, kid. That's my job." she said with a smile, taking the plate and cleaning the syrup up with a moist washcloth. "So...Meowth..." (the cat turned her way at the mention of his name) "Did you have a good sleep last night?"

Meowth sweatdropped, remembering the heist from the night before. He'd surely get in trouble for bringing _that _up...so instead he just chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Yup, good and dandy!"

"Sweet dreams, I'm sure?"

"Heheh, yeah...couldn't be sweeter..."

Nidorina beamed. "That's nice to hear." After finishing with the scrubbing of the plate, she set it down on a tiny stack atop a food service cart and left just as quickly as she had arrived. "You two have a wonderful day." she told them in a brightened tone as she wheeled away. "Good luck with your training!"

Flower looked to Meowth and nodded before reminding him why he was there in the first place. "She's right, Meowth. We should get going; Calix is probably waiting for us outside."

Meowth grumbled to himself and managed to nod weakly in her direction. Well, here it comes. What he had been trying to avoid ever since it was first brought up. And now...it was finally going to happen. Sweat nervously raked his forehead as he jumped from his feet and followed the ivysaur to what he felt would be his ultimate doom, thinking about the consequences all the way. When everyone figured out his disability of not being able to battle, he was in for it, no joke. What would they possibly do with him? Maybe, if he was lucky, they'd just dump him off somewhere and allow him to leave without getting hurt. Or maybe, if he was really _really _lucky, they'd send him back home and everything would be able to resume back to normal. Meowth smiled at the thought. He could just get sent back with his old friends and continue living his life as a rogue without having to worry about a whole world to save. In fact, there were so many other pokemon that could do the job better than him, so it didn't seem like such a bad idea after all.

The two of them neared the door to the outside world. Meowth knew that the lucario was probably waiting for them--him, especially--to show off some of his moves, moves that he didn't even have. It was going to be tough facing the reality put in front of him, but after getting some scars and bruises all his small peach-coloured body, there was a chance he could possibly ask for forgiveness. The pokemon at the HQ seemed nice enough...if they figured out he wasn't truly this _Stronger One _they speak of, he thought it'd be likely that they'd let him off and return him back where he belonged, leaving the responsibility for someone else who was...well, more responsible.

Both the feline and grass-type stopped when they came to a small field just a couple ways from the building. _Dis looks just like da battlefields I've seen throughout my journeys in da real world, _he thought to himself, gulping audibly. _Except dis time, __**I'm **__gonna be da one gettin' da pulp beaten outta me...and dere aint gonna be nothin' I can do about it eidda._

"Hey Meowth, are you feeling alright?" Flower asked from beside him. "You've been so quiet and anxious this morning. Is this about training?"

Meowth bit his lip, wondering whether or not he should tell her exactly what was up. He _could _tell her. It wouldn't be such a big deal, would it? He bit down even harder. No, he couldn't. Flower trusted in him so much. She looked to him as her idol and the new and only friend she had. If she were to know that he was just a normal old meowth--a weaker than average one at that--then she'd be disappointed and definitely wouldn't look to him in the same light as before. Heck, if things got really bad, she'd start hating him for being a lying phony and maybe even stop being friends with him. And Meowth couldn't risk that, especially when she was the only real friend he had at the moment. He sighed, wondering why it just couldn't be so simple!

"Uh yeah...I'm OK. Must've eaten dose pancakes a bit too fast..." He replied, rubbing his stomach. _No Meowth, you're doing it again!, _his mind screamed. _You have to stop lying to her! What's so hard about telling her the truth, anyway?! _He slapped his head, trying to make the voices in his head go away, or at least simmer down a little. "Eheheh..."

"Hey."

Meowth snapped around to the deep voice, seeing exactly what he feared. The lucario towered over them, the sun shining down brightly on his steely-blue fur. The expression worn on his face was hard to determine--he didn't seem to be happy, sad, or even angry. All he did was stare down at the two of them, unblinking with his two glowing red orbs.

"Oh...hi..." Meowth had been planning the words to say in his head all morning but all he could muster now was a quiet, timid greeting.

Calix didn't look like he needed an answer anyway. "Took you a while, didn't it? You'll never have enough time on your paws unless you get up early, young trainee." He tossed his head. "Ah well, you'll get used to it soon enough. In fact, after a few sessions you may begin looking forward to this, I can almost guarantee it."

_Lookin' forward ta it? Ha, now dere's a laugh, _the tan cat thought. That lucario didn't have a clue, did he? Meowth shook a little, fidgeting around with his paws. He had been rehearsing for this. It was finally time to admit what a pathetic loser he really was. Time to let the truth flow out of him like the syrup pouring down the buttermilk pancakes he had for breakfast. Meowth took a deep breath...it was now or never.

"Calix, I--"

"Let us begin training immediately." The jackal-like pokemon cut him off before he could utter another single word. "The sooner we start, the better. Now..." He took his place on the battlefield and Meowth just stood close-by, his knees wobbling like jelly. Meowth's nervousness appeared to go unnoticed by Calix, who only looked down at him as he continued instructing. "Meowth, first things first. Before we get into the serious battling, I'd like to see the skills in which you already have. As you may know, Flower is a pretty experienced battler, so I am already aware of much of the powers that she possess. She'll train alongside you later and will most likely help in aiding you when you take on tougher foes."

Flower beamed from across the battlefield. Meowth just sweatdropped.

"But as for now," Calix went on, looking back at him with those focused ruby eyes. "I just want to see what kinds of things you are capable of doing at the moment. From there, it will be much easier to come up with different strategies and the such. So, when you're ready," he gave Meowth a little more room. "Step forward and show us what you can do." He then just stood there in a casual position with his arms folded against his chest, waiting on the shivering feline.

_Oh crap, _Meowth thought, sweating. _He's eyin' me down like I'm his natural prey or sometin'. What should I do? I can't just stand here like a zombie...oh, but dose __**eyes**__! I swear, dis guy is more intimidatin' den da boss when he don't get his mornin' coffee--and dat, Meowth, has got ta be one of da scariest tings you'se ever seen!_

Meowth looked at Flower hoping she would be able to get him out of this mess, but she only cocked her head out of puzzlement. He then looked to Calix, but all he got from him was a mouthing of the words, "Go for it". Meowth's sweat began coming down faster until he came to the point where he almost wanted to run away and scream in frustration. Instead, he only stood there in the middle of the battlefield, not even twitching occasionally or giving the slightest gesture that he was about ready to start training.

Then, he became aware of two long, black feet landing down in front of his face. Calix was staring him down with the complicated expression painted across his face. "Meowth, there's something on your mind, I can sense it." He told Meowth, who only winced at the words, not wanting to make a fool of himself. "Is something troubling you?"

Meowth sighed. Well, this was it. Without even thinking first, the truth he'd been covering up--consisting of the fact that he didn't know any moves--flowed out in fast whispers, one's that could not be heard from the side of the field in which Flower stood. She only blinked a little, curious to what Meowth could be saying, but Calix had managed to catch onto every word of the squabble. When Meowth was done, staring down at his toes in shame, the lucario nodded to himself as if he understood completely, but said nothing in response.

Meowth looked up nervously, trying to find anger in the canid's reddish eyes. _OK, I really blew it dis time, _he realised. _Now he knows. He knows how weak and stupid I really am. Dat I really a'int da "Stronger One", or whatever. But dat's alright, I guess...da only ting that matters is dat I told him. OK? Da truth's out. But maybe..., _he perked up a little at the thought, _maybe now dat he knows I'm da wrong pokemon, he'll send me back with Jessie and James! _He smiled, suddenly feeling a lot brighter. _So what if I'm not da strongest little meowth dat's gonna save da woild? I'm proud ta be in Team Rocket. It's been my life ever since I was a young foiball. Catching Pikachu may not be fun, but hey, it's what I do best! And dat's sometin' I'm very proud of!_

Calix made what sounded like a grunting noise as Meowth began to slowly walk away and the cat just looked up at him for a split second before passing Flower as he stopped to bid farewell.

"Meowth, what's going on?" she asked, clueless.

Meowth scratched his head. "Well, it's hard ta explain." he started. "See, before I wasn't so sure of myself and I didn't know what I was gonna do about it. I had no idea what was gonna happen ta me and what I was gonna do about it. Everyting seemed like it was turnin' out in my favour, but I believe it might actually be da opposite. Dis role ain't for me, it's for someone else and I'm cool with dat."

Flower looked even more confused then before. "What on Earth are you talking about?"

Meowth shook his head in amusement. "Flower, I should'a known you wouldn't be able to handle dis very good but I tink you'll be fine with it once ya understand dat it may be better for me, you, and everybody else in dis woild ready to get some savin'. Tings don't always end up da way dey seem and I just wanted ya ta know dat even though sometin' great comes along in your life, dat it a'int always gonna be da opportunity you've been seekin' fer all yer life."

As Meowth kept going on, Flower stopped listening to him and began looking worriedly to something that seemed to be approaching him from behind, pointing shakily in hopes that he would turn around and look. Unfortunately, Meowth was getting too into his farewell speech that he failed to notice.

"But now, I tink I finally found out what da true meanin' of my life is," he continued. "Da meanin' of my life was sometin' I had with me all along, and dat's where I tink I need to be. I belong dere, doin' what I need ta be doin', goin' where I need ta be goin', understandin' what I need ta be understandin'..."

Flower crouched and began whining, still pointing desperately behind the chattering feline, and it was only then when Meowth stopped his preaching. "Uh, Flower, what's wrong?"

Flower whined louder and pointed her head the other way in order to urge him to turn around. Meowth blinked at her with his paws to his hips, looking perplexed. "Is...is dere sometin' behind me?" he guessed.

Flower nodded hastily. _Hm..., _Meowth thought. He began turning around to see what it was that was scaring her this way when he was met with a shadow hovering above him. Before he knew what was happening, a tall figure swooped down and attempted to grab him. For what, Meowth did not know. All he knew was that it couldn't be good.

With a sharp yelp, Meowth resided and dodged the two grabbing arms that had so shockingly interrupted him and screeched to a halt on the ground. "What da?!" he half-shouted in bewilderment. Having just caught his breath from the last surprise, he commenced getting up to his feet when he was met by Flower's voice.

"Meowth, look out!"

The two arms were once again reaching for him and Meowth yowled in horror, trying to dive away from the enemy. With his cat-like agility, he was able to evade them a second time by lowering himself beneath their grasp and cutting in from between its legs. When this was accomplished, he began running away as fast as his two feet could take him, which wasn't very far in the long run. He hadn't gone too long when his midnight-black ears soon picked up the sound of someone trampling after him--however, he was too scared to peek behind him and lock eyes with the beast. So instead, he did what came naturally.

"Flower! Flower!" he screeched, flailing his arms. "Help me!"

The ivysaur gasped. "Meowth!" She tried to get up close to aim her razor leaf attack, but it was cleverly dodged when the attacker twisted and turned to skirt the leaves and fire them back at the stunned grass-type. The leaves pummeled back into her green body and she tumbled backwards, mainly from shock and as if from out of nowhere, a steel-cage lowered and hopelessly trapped the ivysaur.

"Oh no! Flower!" Meowth said, stopping absentmindedly to see if she was alright. His distraction from the chase gave his enemy the short amount of time he needed to turn the situation to his advantage. He quickly grabbed onto the cat's scrawny arms and pinned them to the ground with his giant black paws, looking him straight down at him with a gleam in his red eyes.

Meowth's own eyes widened at seeing the familiar face. "C-Calix?" he stammered.

The lucario smiled down at him, only know it only seemed a bit more wicked than it was before. Meowth tried to get up from the fierce hold, but his struggling was to no avail and the jackal pokemon continued pressing down on them.

Meowth cried as he struggled. "Calix, w-what are you doin'? What's happenin'?" Meowth wasn't sure what to do when the lucario wouldn't answer him. He just couldn't believe that Calix would turn to the dark side. Instead of asking, he began demanding, kicking his brown feet in the air as he did so. "Stop! In da name of da _Stronger One_, I order ya to stop! And if ya don't do it you're gonna get inta big trouble, and dat's da kind you a'int gonna like. So I demand ya to stop right dis very instant!"

Calix paid no heed. Alternatively, he brought up his right paw and held it in a fist in front of Meowth's non-existent nose. What looked to be something like a small, blue, gaseous orb expanded from out of his paw, growing bigger and bigger as if being charged in power. Meowth whimpered and tried to close his eyes to get ready for the impact of the attack.

"Meowth!" Flower's voice called from inside the trap from which she was still getting up from her mild fall. "You have to do something!"

Meowth concentrated on her voice. _Do sometin', huh? Well, what am I supposed ta do like dis? I'm done fer! _He focused at the glowing blue sphere of energy hovering between his eyes when suddenly, Calix brought it up, right about to strike it into his tiny body. Just as fate was about to play itself out, Meowth gave one more futile attempt to break free and without realising it, raised his free arm and slashed the lucario across the face.

"Grrooou!" The fighting type threw his paws to his face where there were three scratch marks visible, giving Meowth enough time to roll to the side and bring himself back up. After taking quick breaths to regain himself from the incident, Meowth glanced down at his right paw with the trio of long, sharp claws extended from it. Flower chirped from inside the cage and Meowth bounded over to her in response.

"Meowth, that was amazing! The best slash attack I've ever seen, if I do say so myself." she complimented, gesturing toward the cat's paw.

Slash attack? That was slash attack?

He knew he had used similar things to what he thought to be scratch and fury swipes in his past, but slash was something he was not so familiar with. Wait a second...scratch? Fury swipes?

Meowth looked down at his paws with gleaming eyes. Maybe he did know some attacks after all. So what if they were just different claw strokes? They were still powers, and a power was a power. Back in his world, he would often scratch at things that bothered him--most often times his human partners when they got on his nerves--but he never really though of it as a "real" pokemon move, more like an action that could be taken for granted.

"Well, uh...tanks, I guess." Meowth said, blushing a little as he caressed the back of his head with his left paw, feeling embarrassed over such praise.

A roar came from behind and Meowth nervously faced Calix as he got up from where he was scratched on the muzzle and inched towards he and Flower. There was a look of malice in those eyes that clearly warned he did not like to be messed with. He towered over both small pokemon, revealing the blue orb from his paw once again as a sign that he was willing to continue the fight, and roared once more.

Meowth took a step forward. "If it's a fight you want, it's a fight you'll get but I better warn ya, I can get pretty angry...and if dis a'int my mad face, I doubt ya'd wanna see it anytime soon." He brought both paws into a fighting position, claws out and ready to go.

"Meowth, be careful." Flower whispered to him. "Calix is part steel type, which means normal moves don't have very much effect, and the fact that he's also part fighting can mean some nasty hits to a normal type like you."

"Hmph...don't worry, Flower." the cat grunted. "I'll...I'll take care of 'im fer ya." He was a bit stunned at both his sudden willingness to fight and also to protect Flower. Meowth usually became nervous over a larger opponent and didn't like to fight most of the time to begin with, and then of course, the way he stepped up and defended Flower as such was also unlike him, due to the fact that he hardly even knew her.

However, he didn't let his thoughts drift him away from the battle. In fact, he decided to make the next move and started it back up again. "Thought dat hurt?" he mocked. "Let's see how ya like ta get a dosage of my...FURY SWIPES!" He jumped onto the lucario's face with paws spread wide and slashed it up for all he was worth, once to the left, then to the right, left, right, left and right again. Calix moaned painfully from the sharp blows but managed to smack him down with a mighty compulsion. Meowth landed in the ground, creating a huge indent in the process.

Flower stared in awe with a worried looked planted on her face. "Whoa, that was force palm!"

Calix laughed a bit darkly as his view turned to the grass-type in the cage, then back to Meowth who weakly clobbered out of his silhouette in the earth.

"C-calix...why...?" he stammered, not feeling quite as confident as he had before. After witnessing an attack from a powerful pokemon like that one, who would?

"Meowth!" Flower shouted, determined to break out and help the cat. She tried a couple more razor leaves, but they did nothing to the cage whatsoever, so she tried sticking her head out though the narrow gap in between the bars, only to almost get stuck. It was no use. Meowth would have to deal with the lucario on his own. She slumped down, suddenly feeling very sorry for dragging Meowth into the situation. "Oh...please Meowth, you can do this..." she begged softly.

Calix uttered another sinister cackle, almost as if waiting for Meowth to finally pick himself up. However, while laughing, Flower thought she managed to catch something new in his eyes...wait, was that a wink? Calix winked at her? Flower didn't quite understand, but she nodded and kept quiet. Calix seemed to know what he was doing...and she would have to trust him.

"Stop bullyin' me, ya big bully!" Meowth retorted, bringing Calix's direction back to him. "I'll teach ya ta mess with me and my friend here...I'll teach ya so good you won't ever come back!" He got up closer to the canid pokemon to try to get a few more scratches in, however when Meowth got close, he was in for a real beating. With the speed of a running arcanine, Calix began to punch the cat repeatedly before letting him fly a bit far across the battlefield.

"Aiiiiiieeeeeeeee!" he screamed, his back slamming against a tree. He slid down, wincing at the pain in his back as he struggling once again to get up. "W-what was dat?!"

"That was...a close combat attack." Flower informed him from under her watchful eye and Meowth looked to her as she explained further. "When an opponent gets close, the attacker has the ability to throw lightning speed punches at him quicker than his opponent can think of anything to do about it."

Meowth growled. He had not predicted anything of the sort. Now he would have to be a lot more careful to avoid having history repeat itself. _Okay, den if I can't get up to him like dat, I guess I'll have ta approach...from behind. _

Meowth whirled around and dove to the other side of the fighting type, claws up and ready. Calix was completely aware of this and did nothing more than smirk. Flower gasped quietly as she realised what was about to happen. However, as she started to yell out and warn him, she got that same look from Calix again and she kept to herself, whining softly as if she couldn't bear the outcome.

_Heh heh, I'll get 'im dis time. He a'int gonna have a clue about what ta do if I attack 'im from da opposin' side!, _ran Meowth's wild thoughts as he aimed another slash attack at the pokemon's rear end. Unfortunately, he did not sense what exactly the lucario had in his mind and before he knew it, the blue and black pokemon spun into his path and struck Meowth's attacking arm with a large, hard object. Meowth cried out and reeled his throbbing arm away, dancing in pain.

"Bone rush." Flower whimpered, recognising the ground-type move straight away.

Meowth bit down on his tongue to keep himself from crying out anymore as he gently smoothed over his aching arm. First, a blow to the stomach, then a rough slam on the back and now his arm was pounding from the sting of the last attack. Battling was hard--and painful--work.

Calix's long black feet appeared in front of Meowth and he yelped and recoiled back, still holding onto his arm. "Don't come...any closer..." he warned, trying to sound threatening, though his voice was quivering madly.

"Meowth...no need to strike me back. You have shown me all that I needed to know." Calix replied, the first time he had spoken directly since he had so abruptly attacked Meowth.

"You...you don't fool me..." Meowth growled. He stopped rubbing his hurt arm and raised the other one, claws to try to scare the larger pokemon away. Despite this, Calix stayed put. Meowth's eyes widened in confusion as he noticed the lucario no longer had that evil look to him. In fact, he had that same old serious expression that he had on his face before. Then, his eyes slanted back down again. "You're...tryin' ta trick me..."

"Meowth, calm down. It's over. You're all right now."

As if on cue, the cage holding Flower shot up, releasing her from its captivity. She quietly rejoiced, then skipped up to where Meowth and Calix were.

"Meowth, you okay?" she asked, to get his mind off the lucario looming in front of him.

"Uhhh...yeah..." he lied, hastily trying to get up to prove it. When he got onto his first foot, he suddenly felt a mild pain shoot up from it and into the rest of his body, thus making him cringe.

"Meowth, careful!" Flower insisted, pushing him down gently. "You got pretty roughed up in that battle. Take it easy." She observed a couple of his wounds; as to be expected, none were too serious and could be easily fixed.

"Yeah, b-but..." Meowth looked worried gesturing towards his right. Flower automatically sensed he was scared because he believed the lucario would jump him again.

"Oh, you don't have to be afraid of him, Meowth." Flower assured him, helping him up slowly. "He was only trying to help."

Meowth's jaw dropped in disbelief. "But...he attacked me..."

Calix half-smiled down at the cat, almost scaring the daylights out of him. "Your friend is right, young trainee." he added wisely. "That was merely a test to confirm your strength, nothing more."

Meowth, back on his feet again, rubbed at his sore arm once more where he was struck with the bone. "A test?" he inquired, relaxing a bit in Calix's presence. "Did I pass?"

Calix tossed his shoulders. "I would say so."

"But, I don't get it...why'd ya attack me?" he questioned. "I mean, I know it was for da test, but why'd ya do it?"

The canid smirked. "Well, I was informed by yourself that you didn't know how to use any attack moves, am I right? I doubt there was any way I could've gotten it out of you unless I threw you into a bleak situation as such. It was the only way to prove you wrong, see?"

Meowth looked down at the ground below him, embarrassed. "Yeh, I guess yer right. But still...ya really seemed like you were gonna attack me back dere. I mean, it was da scariest ting I've witnessed in a while and I betcha it really raised my blood pressure." He held at his heart. "So...ya know...if it a'int too much ta ask, could ya warn a guy before ya start rippin' 'im to shreds like dat?" Flower sweatdropped and laughed a little.

Calix stared at him with ruby-coloured eyes. "Now, why would I need to do that? After all, I've already figured out most of your basic attacks and strategies. It's evident you're going to need to put forth a lot of work, practice, and dedication if you want to be able to take on stronger foes, but of course, it is not at all impossible. I believe in you, Meowth. If there's anybody who can personally train you, it would be me. Consider yourself lucky--not every pokemon out there gets the special private lessons I provide. In fact, not many at all."

Another old question popped into Meowth's mind, and knowing it would bother him forever if he didn't find out the answer, he decided to ask while they were on the particular subject. "Dat brings up another little question."

Calix raised his eyebrows and Flower did the same, equally as curious. "And that would be...?"

Meowth pondered how he would put it into words before letting it out. "Well...I guess I just wanted ta know...uhhhh..." He lowered his head, feeling their eyes piercing into him. "Well, I mean...it's...it's kinda like dis..." He paused again and took a deep breath. "Why me? I mean, out of everybody else ya could've chosen...why did ya pick **me** for dis? Not to be offendin' ta myself or nothin', but I'm a'int da strongest pokemon around..."

Calix looked at Meowth as if he had five heads, but Flower answered for him. "Why, because you're the _Stronger One_, of course." she reminded him with a warm smile.

Meowth sighed, not getting the answer he had anticipated and sensing he would not get it very soon, either. He silently gave up for the time being and decided to play along. "Oh, well...guess ya have a point dere..."

Flower went into another one of her giggling fits. "Oh, Meowth...you never fail to make me laugh!"

Meowth blushed a bit.

"So...Meowth..."

The redness of Meowth's face vanished and he turned to the lucario who had broken the silence. "Yeah?"

Calix nodded toward the battlefield they stood upon. "Ready to continue with your training, or would you like a little break, first?"

"Hmmm..." Meowth looked to Flower, hoping she would give him her opinion on what he should do, but he only got a smile and a "it's-your-choice,-you-do-what-you-want-to-do" contemplation in response.

Meowth blinked, thinking. That last battle bruised him up quite a lot, though he didn't want to admit it. After all, it was his first real pokemon battle in a very long time. If he fought more, it might only add onto the pain, and who knew how much it would bring in one serving? Meowth shook his head. _But den again, _he thought, _ta be weak seems like da wrong kind of attitude for someone who calls himself da __**Stronger One**__..._

After thoroughly going through the decision in his head, he gave a tough smile, pumped his tiny fist and stood in a triumphant position that surprised the other two pokemon whose gazes were cast upon him. _Gee Meowth, ya better be right about dis one... _He bowed his head, sighed inwardly to himself, then gave a quick nod. He was ready.

"Let's train."

...

_Where have I been? Gee, I'm sorry, guys! And this time I have absolutely no excuse for late delivery of this chapter. For some reason, I've never really been in "writing mode" all too much in the last month, however I have been in "daydream mode" quite a lot. The good thing about that is, that I pretty much have a good idea how most of this story is going to be played out. Which is nice, really. The hard part is just going to be getting it down onto paper...erm, I mean the computer! XD You know, I'd really __**like **__to be able to make it up to you by updating the next chapter quicker, and I will try but...no promises, or else I may have nothing to say if I...break them. I __will__ try though, especially since I left the other chapter on a cliffhanger and...well, cliffhangers are the main reason why people on this site hate me. XP Anyhoo, I hope you enjoyed this last update, though the battle with Calix was kinda overly-dramatic. (Maybe it's just me, I dunno...I can never get myself to write anything of seriousness...) Like I said before, I will try to update sooner for the next chapter because of the cliffie, but you know me...I'm freaking unpredictable! But for the time being, I'll have to say g'bye and hope to see you again soon. Oh, and Happy Independence Day, for those of you who are American. So...eh...later! XD_


	8. Being Good Guys?

**Disclaimer: I've been working on the railroad, all the live long daaaaaaaaay! I've been working on the railroad just to pass the time awaaaaaaaaaay! -five windows break- **

_Uh oh, gotta start working on my pitch...anyway, as you have noticed, I have yet again created the newest chapter for you. I am hoping these further installments will start getting a little more interesting because beginning stuff ish boring. But then again, I don't want to go off too fast either, because a lot of detail would have to be left out at that. -sigh- It is very hard to get your story set onto the right speed...oh so very hard! Well anywho, (I say that word a lot) I guess I've been wasting enough time rambling like this, so here's the next chapter. Enjoyith!_

...

A gray and black-furred pokemon peeked out from behind the shelter of one of the town's establishments, the Kecleon Mart. The pair of sapphire-blue eyes were watching the little commotion going on in the middle of the square, trying to gather important information, which was a very significant thing to do before making a grand entry. She could see it well, but it was a little hard to hear due to the distance separated among them. Plus, there was something else breaking her concentration...

"Ooooh Jessie, I wanna see, I wanna see! Can I look? Please? _Please? __**PLEASE**__**?!**_"

"No."

"That's not faaaaair! It's my turn! I wanna seeeee..." A furry blue head tried to squeeze itself out from behind, half the pokemon's face and ear scraping against the building as he struggled to get within viewing range in which to catch a better glimpse, only the force of his teammate prevented him from doing so.

"Quiet now," the poochyena hissed, putting a paw to her partner's whining mouth. "They'll hear us! Do you want to break our cover?!"

"Mpphhlll."

"That's what I thought." the dog pokemon, Jessie replied as she released his trap, making him smack his lips in response.

"But Jessie, what about the--"

"Yes, we're doing it James! We just have to wait until the right time."

"Oh..." The shinx trailed, his green ring-like pupils looking down at the ground. Then he looked back up. "And when will that be?" he asked in excitement.

"Shhhh..." The poochyena waved her paw at him in attempt to get him to stop talking. "When I say so."

"Ah...and what version?"

The poochyena sighed. "How many times do I have to tell you?" she growled. "Version 1.0, got it?!"

"Ooooh, we haven't done that one in a while."

"Yeah, yeah, James...now stop flapping your gums and just wait for a second, OK?" she retorted in frustration, looking out at the scene then back to her partner again. "When I give the signal, we go, and we don't go until I give that signal. Got it?!"

"Awww, why do _you _always get to--"

Jessie gave him her famous death stare. If looks could kill, James would've been a goner long ago. So instead of pushing the argument any further, he let out a little "eep" sound and backed away, huddling into the corner.

Jessie smirked in satisfaction and returned to her post, watching the pokemon in the Square walking around and curiously wondering what they were saying.

...

"I just can't believe it! I let my guard down for the first time since her birth and she's gone, just like that!" a rather large pokemon cried. He was white and bulky, complete with sharp claws on his hands, two horns extending from what looked to be a helmet on his head and steely armor covering the rest of his body for the most part.

"Calm down Aggron, she couldn't have gotten too far. How long has she been gone?" questioned Kangaskhan by his side.

The steel-type clenched his teeth. "I don't know. She could've left anywhere between five to twenty minutes. I've searched all the areas around the town, and I can't find her anywhere." He pounded his fist on the ground, creating tiny tremors that caused some of the townspokemon standing nearby to jump.

"Now, now, Aggron." Granbull spoke softly, trying to get him to calm down a bit. "I sent Lombre off to get Cliff. You know him, he hasn't failed a mission in his life. He'll be able to get your daughter back, don't worry."

"Cliff? Yeah, I heard of him...didn't he go out of business about a year from now?"

"Well, yes..." Gulpin admitted. "But he came back and joined up with a new rescue team just today, right now to be exact. So it would seem as though your daughter got lost at the perfect timing."

"WHAT?!" growled the aggron, grabbing onto the gulpin with his clawed hands, intimidating him to say the least. "You think this is all a game, don't you?!"

"Aggron..._please_...put Gulpin down and relax for a minute..." pleaded Granbull, putting her paws on his shoulders, but was quickly cut off before she could say or do much more.

"Relax?! How can I relax?! She's gone, probably in severe danger and the only advice you have for me is to RELAX?!" He quired angrily, stomping his foot and causing the ground to shake again.

"Kangaskhan, are we late?" came a lombre's voice, followed by the leaf-type himself with a quilava by his side. It was evident that both of them had just come out from the Pelipper Post Office. The quilava's eyes were searching worriedly as if looking for something.

"A little bit." stated Persain, flicking her tail stubbornly, if not impatiently.

"Oh, is that Cliff? He's the one?" asked Aggron, turning to face the fire type, and dropping the exhausted gulpin in the process.

The quilava, Cliff, stopped looking around and rubbed his chin. He didn't appear to have heard Aggron's question, and piped up with his own. "Hey, have any of you guys seen that shinx and poochyena I had with me earlier?"

One of the Kecleon brothers raised an eyebrow. "_Those_ two? As a matter of fact...no, we haven't. Thought they were with you. Why?"

"Well..." Cliff started. "They ran out of the building when they heard about the incident in the Square and I came to follow them, thinking they would end up here of all places but..." His mind instantly began thinking of the worst. Had they really abandoned him at this point in time? He growled quietly. They must have gotten away when they had the chance. How could he be so stupid?

"Great." Aggron remarked sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "First my daughter gets lost, and now this..."

"Oh, come now." Granbull soothed irritably. "Cliff's teammates may be gone, but Cliff can handle this mission on his own. Why, he could be stronger than most of us put together. Isn't that right, Cliff? Will you help?"

The quilava sighed, trying to stop thinking the foul thoughts in his mind. If they decided to leave, so be it. He had signed up to be on a rescue team, and that meant he would have to keep his rescue team promise...to rescue any pokemon in need, no matter how tough or impossible the mission. He clenched his fist. "Yeah...I'll help." he replied with a sigh. He lifted his head, trying to regain his confidence. "Yeah, I'm on it. Just tell me the mission and I'll be off. I will do anything in my power to assist in the problem."

The other pokemon nodded acceptingly.

"Yes! That's the Cliff we know!" Weepinbell said excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"I may be alone, but that won't be able to stop me from doing what's right." Cliff recited proudly, holding up his team kit. "I will help in under any circumstances, in any disaster, in any problem, in any trouble--"

"Did I hear someone say the word...trouble?" a voice popped out of nowhere. Everybody began looking around to find the source of those spoken words.

"'Cos if that's the case, you might want to make that double!" added a second voice.

"What the--?!" exclaimed Aggron as everybody continued searching for where the voices were coming from.

All of a sudden, two small figures dropped down from out of nowhere and into the middle of the circle of gathered pokemon, causing some of them to back up in surprise.

It was quite a funny sight, really. The two pokemon--a shinx and a poochyena--were standing on their hind legs, leaning on each other back-to-back and crossing their arms. What was also noticeable was that the shinx was holding a large, red rose in between his teeth. Only, when the other pokemon thought it couldn't get weirder, the two of them began to recite what sounded like some kind of odd poem.

"To protect this world from devastation!"

"To unite all pokemons within our nation!"

Each of them struck out different poses between every line, most of them requiring them to stand on two feet, thus making them look ten times more ridiculous.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

The poochyena laughed and combed a paw through the fur on her head. "Jessie!"

The shinx took the rose between his fingers and held it to his lips. "And James!"

The pokemon surrounding them started shrugging their shoulders and whispering to one another as the two poets continued their debut.

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare for one heck of a fight, fight FIGHT!" Both the shinx and poochyena locked paws and looked to Cliff. The fire-type pokemon scratched his head in confusion.

"Um...that's right?"

Jessie and James nodded. "That's right!" They repeated. Then, they put their hands to their hips and Jessie cackled, pointing towards the group of pokemon around Aggron.

"Now hand over the pikachu!" she ordered, more out of habit than anything else.

Cliff stared at them with a blank expression on his face. "Uhhh...pikachu? What are you talking about?"

Just then, as though realisation suddenly hit them, sweat poured down the heads of the electric and dark types and they laughed nervously, getting back down on all fours as they did so.

"Did we say Pikachu?" asked James.

"We didn't say Pikachu...did we James?" chuckled Jessie.

"No, we definitely did **not** say Pikachu!" laughed James.

All the other pokemon sweatdropped.

"OK...right..." Lombre trailed, unable to think of a better response.

Cliff smiled to himself, relieved to see that he hadn't been abandoned after all. "Well, now that you're here, I guess that means we should be on our way to find Aggron's daughter." he pronounced, still holding his team kit and looking more than ready to go.

"Yeah, if anyone will be able to do it, it's Cliff's team!" agreed Gulpin with a nod.

"Go, Team Rocket!" yelled Lombre, and before anyone knew it, the rest of the pokemon started to join in as well, chanting their new team name.

Jessie looked on. "Wait...what's with all this hubbub?" she asked irritably.

"I don't know." James answered honestly. "No one has ever cheered us on like this before...at least, since I can remember. I mean, they keep shouting our name over and over again, and it's getting repetitive. What do they want from us?"

Cliff had heard this question and turned back to his comrades. "Like I said before," he started, grabbing the duo's attention. "Aggron's daughter has gone missing and we've been asked to scout around for her. We're heading out."

The pokemon in the background continued cheering at the three pokemon in the middle of the circle. James looked confused. "You mean right now?"

"Well...yes." Cliff replied, and began to explain. "It's our duty as a rescue team to help anyone in danger without hesitation and now that we're a rescue team, it means we should preserve that duty and go lend a helping paw. As long as there's..." He was about to say the word _trouble_, when he remembered how strange the two had acted upon hearing it and decided not to. "As long as there's pokemon in need," he continued. "we should be out there, willing to help against all odds. So, congratulations!" he praised, grinning down at his new partners. "You've just been assigned to your first ever rescue mission!"

Jessie and James were so astonished, their jaws dropped entirely to the ground.

"_**WHAT?!**_"

...

"I still don't understand this."

The new "rescue team" had broken apart from the pokemon at the town square and had went searching for Aggron's lost child. Cliff had led them to a nearby dungeon, called Apple Woods, where he assumed the little pokemon could be hiding due to a trail of aron footprints in the ground leading into the very place. And since aron in Apple Woods wasn't at all too common, it seemed a good choice at the moment for the search.

Jessie glared at Cliff as they walked through the glade. "I just don't understand." she repeated. "Why will you go looking for this kid, yet you won't let us try to find Meowth?"

Cliff looked back at Jessie and sighed. He had predicted her question--it had only been the sixth time she had asked it. "I already told you," he informed. "Your friend could be anywhere--and anywhere means there are quite a lot of possibilities to where he could be thriving. It would take forever to search just anywhere...plus, you two aren't strong enough to get into the tougher dungeons quite yet. We need to take on the easier missions to first get more experience and--"

Jessie made a face. "There you go again, calling us weak!" she fumed. "How dare you insult us in such a way?! I bet none of this means anything to you!"

Cliff seemed taken aback by the outburst. "It wasn't meant to be an insult." he replied soberly. "And trust me, I know what it's like to lose a friend. I'm doing as much as I can to help. You just have to trust me...we'll get through it. I promise."

Jessie growled silently. "Yeah...we believe you..." she murmured sarcastically under her breath.

Cliff lifted his head and exhaled slowly. Looks like he was still a long way from gaining the poochyena's trust, after all. Everything he did or said seemed to make her really suspicious. Well, he couldn't blame her. The way he tried to stop them from looking for their friend made it look as though he were against them, which wasn't the case at all. In fact, he wanted them to be happy. But really, to look for someone who could be anywhere was almost an impossible task, especially at the skill level of two humans that transformed into pokemon and have most likely never battled before. On top of that, there had to be a purpose they came to his world in the first place. Cliff wanted to understand, yet aid them on however he could but there were just so many questions. _Just one step at a time, _he figured. _And eventually we should make it._

His thoughts were soon interrupted by a scream, and he looked ahead of him just to find James being helplessly chased by an oddish.

"AAAAAAAH, NO! GET IT AWAY FROM ME! HELP, HELP, HELP!" he yelled, darting around and around in a circle. The oddish followed, shooting seeds at his bum, thus causing him to cry out. It seemed to really enjoy tormenting him and continued firing its bullet seeds at his back end.

A sweatdrop poured down Cliff's head. Yeah, they definitely weren't ready for the tougher dungeons yet. "James, that's just a bullet seed, and it can be easily countered." he consulted. "Just fight it back! Try one of your electric attacks!"

The blue-furred creature yowled and took refuge from behind the quilava. "It's shooting seeds at me and it hurts!" he whined, ducking as far away as he could from the hideous little weed. The oddish made what sounded like a laughing noise and bounced towards the hiding shinx, steering him away with another shriek and continuing to chase him in circles.

Jessie also couldn't help but laugh. "If only I could capture this moment forever!"

Cliff only slapped himself on the forehead. Looks like it was up to him..._again._ With one nicely aimed burst of fire, the grass-type did not hesitate to retreat into the bushes and was gone, most likely to never bother them again. James flounced on the ground in relief, thoroughly exhausted.

"Darnit, I was having fun." Jessie pouted playfully.

"Fun?" asked Cliff, blinking for a second before getting back on subject. "Remember, this isn't about fun, and none of this is a game." he reminded, helping James back up on his feet. "We're on a mission, remember? We must be serious at all costs. Anything can happen in a dungeon, and if you're not paying attention, you can get really hurt."

Jessie rolled her eyes. "Yeah. Whatever, Fire Weasel. You're looking at the experts here. We know how to handle pain, don't we James?"

"Uhhhhhhh..."

"See? You're the one who wants us to get experience so badly anyway, and pain gets us experience, am I right?" Jessie said with a smirk. Cliff pondered it in his head for a second before replying.

"Well, not necessarily all the time, but--"

Jessie stood up to his face. "YES, NECESSARILY ALL THE TIME AS LONG AS I SAY SO!" she countered. When Cliff didn't say anything in response--just sat there slightly stunned--the poochyena brightened up again. "Okay, that's good, I'm right. I always am. Now...let's just get this mission thing-a-ma-jigger over with." With that, she continued the trek, leaving the other two behind.

Cliff put his paw to his forehead in a frustrated state. "Aye! Why does she have to be so impossible? It's annoying!" he cried, once he was sure she was out of earshot.

James half-smiled knowingly up at the fire-type. "You better get used to it." he advised.

Cliff shook his head in amusement and the two of them began to catch up with the team member getting ahead.

The next fifteen minutes or so were pretty much uneventful, if that's what you call a handful of rabid oddish and hoppip popping up here and there and harassing the trio--well, James more like. Many different pokemon, including these grass types inhabited the woodland and attacked merely on instinct, or perhaps because of something else? Anyway, whatever the case, James had been worn-down pretty bad. The constant bullet seeds and razor leaves were starting to drain his energy and he wouldn't waste one second to let the whole world know about his rather bleak situation.

"I cannot go on!"

Cliff stopped walking and sighed. First Jessie with her arguing, and now James with his complaining. It was like a never-ending cycle of madness that he found he could not avoid--and it was coming around again, just like before.

The quilava sweatdropped. "Maybe instead of running from them, you should learn how to use your attacks." he suggested politely.

James appeared to not be listening as he continued thrashing around on the ground, reminding Cliff much of a magikarp. "It hurts too bad! I just can't get up, it's hurting me! The pain, the pain! Those mean oddish hurt me!" he wailed, drowning himself in self-pity.

"Oh great, another whine-fest." Jessie mumbled with her paws to her ears.

"James, calm down! Sheesh, it wasn't _that _bad!" Cliff assured, getting down and observing him quickly and, after not finding anything seriously wrong, pointing at his perfectly healthy figure. "See, no wounds...you're fine!"

The shinx started to get a hold of himself and sniffed loudly. "Yeah, but...I still can't get up! I'm too tired!" he protested, slumping down even further on the ground, if possible.

Cliff shook his head. _Well, you gotta do what you gotta do. _He put down his suitcase and began to rummage through it as if looking for something. James stopped wallowing for a split second, curious to see what was going on.

"Hey...what are you doing?" he asked.

Jessie smiled a bit wickedly down at him. "He's looking for his mallet, so he can strike it against your pretty little head." she lied. James, naturally, began freaking out. A look of pure terror washed across his pale face.

"THE MALLET? Holy miltank--anything but **that! **The mallet! _THE MALLET_! AH, NO!" Just when his mouth was wide open, Cliff inserted a small blue object into it. James ceased the shouting to chew whatever it was in his mouth, marvel the taste and swallow with great interest. Whatever it was, apparently it was edible.

"Mmmm...that was good." he complimented, then suddenly his eyes widened and he got back up quickly. "Hey, I'm not tired anymore!" he realised, and began frolicing around in a sugar-high kind of way. "Not tired! Not tired! Not tired! Yeah!"

Cliff looked down at Jessie's weird expression and quickly answered her question before she could ask it. "An oran berry." he explained. "It gives a pokemon energy and helps it carry on in dungeons. Especially useful when close to fainting."

Jessie lifted her brow. "Is it caffeine-induced?" she quired, watching her partner carefully out of the corner of her eye. He was flapping his arms as he ran around psychotically.

"I am Super Moltres!" he announced. "Feel my burning wrath!" A couple wild pokemon peeked out of the trees here and there and stared at James, too entertained by his little act to do anything more.

"Uhhh, well...I do not actually know." Cliff admitted. "Some pokemon do tend to become a little more hyper than others though...eh, but the side effects will wear off soon enough. He should come back to his senses quickly."

Jessie watched James's attempt at trying to fly and sweatdropped. "For our sakes, I hope he does." she commented.

All of a sudden, there was a rustling nearby that caught the attention of all three of them, thus making them pause what they were doing to lock their eyes upon the source of the sound. Three tough looking pokemon--a sort of rescue team by the looks of it--appeared where the rustling noises were heard. A couple of the weak wild pokemon that were hanging around fled once they saw the large creatures coming out from behind the bushes and retreated into a safer place in the forest; however, Cliff and the others weren't phased enough to do the same and stood their ground as they watched the approach.

The first pokemon in the middle was very large and bulky looking, and much more intimidating than the two that traveled alongside him. He had large arm muscles and a sharp horn on his head, not to mention some visible fangs emerging from his mouth. On his left was a tall purple-coloured creature complete with a yellow mustache and diamonds across his body. And the last pokemon, the ice-type to his right, was some different shades of blue. She had long ears and a weird head brace coming out and around her face. All three of them were wearing midnight black bandannas around their necks, thus signifying their position of a standard rescue team.

"Oh, well if it isn't Cliff." the middle pokemon said with a smile, showing his sharp incisors.

"Excuse me," the quilava responded, stepping up. His voice sounded neither polite nor rude. "But who are you, and what do you want from me?" he demanded.

"Why, my bad. We haven't introduced ourselves, I'm afraid." the middle one--the leader of the possee-replied. "I am Ryperior." He pointed to his left. "That purple guy over there is Swalot." He pointed to the right. "And that's Glaceon. The three of us make up...**Team Brutal**!"

Jessie laughed. "Uhhh...how about Team _Lame_?" she countered, swishing her tail in amusement. "Seriously, where'd you come up with some pathetic name like that? Psh...losers."

The glaceon snarled back. "You're nothing but talk, princess. I'll have you know that our team made it to the Master Rank a long time ago...and what are you? Not Master Rank, I bet! That gives you no right to interfere. So I'll give you a little warning--step aside, unless you want to get very very hurt."

Jessie rolled her eyes at the ice-type. "Ooooh, I'm so scared..." she remarked teasingly.

"You watch it." Glaceon threatened with a growl. Jessie simply stuck out her tongue in defense, however the message didn't get across as the eeveelution's attention was elsewhere.

"Ignore her, Glace." Ryperior told her. "We're only interested in what we came for, nothing more."

Cliff slanted his eyes. "And what is it that you want? Why do think I'd give it to you anyway?"

Ryperior turned to the fire-type. "Glad you asked. See, our Team Brutal is lacking a little in the strength department--" Jessie sniggered quietly to herself and the Glaceon looked to her with malice, however the leader of the group continued talking. "And we heard you was out of business with the whole rescuing thing, and you wanted to register back in. We found out you decided to join up with those two weaklings." he gestured to Jessie and James. "And really, it aint worth your time dealing with _them_. So that's why we came here. We want you to add another member to our team. With someone with as much power as you on our side, we'd be the best rescue team ever! So...what do ya say? Join us?" he asked, extending a large rocky hand in Cliff's direction.

Jessie looked angry. _Weaklings? The nerve of them! I'd show 'em... _She was just about ready to give them a piece of their mind. She glanced at James. He appeared to be infuriated by the insult himself...he was even in a battle stance? Well, there was a time and place for everything...

"Uhh, well that's nice of you to offer." Cliff replied quietly. "But I'm afraid I've already chosen to form an alliance with Jessie and James. If you're looking for a new member to your roster, you must look elsewhere." He started turning away with his teammates when he was stopped. The rhyperior's cold hand placed itself upon his shoulder.

"I don't think you have a say in that choice. See, we have something you want--and we'd gladly exchange her to have you on the team."

Cliff looked confused, but quickly came to a realisation. "Her?...you mean?" Almost as if on cue, a small trembling pokemon showed itself from behind the larger beasts towering above it. It was small and white, covered in small black dots all over its body. "The aron!" Cliff exclaimed, quickly running up to grab her when the Swalot dived in front to stop him in his tracks.

"You want her? Trade for her!" he ordered. "It's you for the aron, Clifton."

Cliff snorted. "You used that aron to bait me here...I must say, that was pretty smart. However, I can't say I'm going to give in to you that easy. So give us the aron and leave--or would you rather fight us instead?" He produced flames from his back, cautioning them to back off.

The glaceon smiled viciously. "What, you mean us three against you and those _losers_?" she said, loudly emphasizing on the last word. "Hah, what a joke!"

Jessie couldn't hold it in any longer. "YOU INGRATE!" she fumed. "You're worse than Cassidy! You wanna fight? Huh? Well, bring it! We'll see who the _real _loser is when I'll be done with you! Now get out of our way, jerk!" With that threat fully out of her system, the poochyena charged up without thinking and tackled into the ice-type's face. The glaceon growled, a lot angrier than before.

"Alright, that's it! Say goodbye!" she roared, spewing some ice shards in Jessie's path. Quickly getting onto her feet, she actually managed to dodge them by a little and stared up at the attacker in vengeance. "Is that all you got?" she vexed. Glaceon stormed after her with much speed, shooting ice attacks all the way. _Whoa, she's fast! _Jessie sort of regretted that last insult as she tried her hardest not to get hit by the frozen attacks and try to get in her own...without much success.

Rhyperior grinned at the fighting females and then looked back down to Cliff. "I see your humble little partner there chose the wrong answer. She'll be no match for the speed and agility of Glaceon." Cliff looked up and clenched his teeth, and the rhyperior only smiled larger. "I'd gladly fight you, Clifton, but you are sadly at a disadvantage as well. Fire is no match for rock nor ground. Looks like you're a bit out of luck."

Cliff held his head high. "That may be true." he commented. "But you do realise I have been up against legendaries in my time? Size and type does not matter." He approached bravely and held up his fist. "I'll gladly take you on."

Rhyperior laughed, and started the match off by hurling some stones down at the fire-type in front of him. Cliff swiftly countered up with a strong flamethrower, and both attacks knocked into one another and created a small explosion. Both rhino and weasel jumped back, the two of them avoiding the flying debris. Cliff then dived into the air and shot down some star-shaped projectiles at the unsuspecting pokemon. Rhyperior put an arm above his head to try to stop them, growled and then raced toward him with a hammer arm being charged. Cliff jumped out of the way again and the rock-type's hand proceeded to punch the ground below him until he seemed a wee stuck. Cliff quickly seized this opportunity and delivered a quick attack to his opponent's shoulder. The normal-type attack didn't do much, but it did free the rhyperior's hand. Both stood to face the other and caught their breath.

"You're better than I took you for." Cliff admitted, panting a little.

Rhyperior smirked. "Regret not joining up with us now?"

Cliff turned his head away and returned the smirk. "Not on my life. This battle is far from over." With those last words, the fight gave way once more and both of them were at each other complete with stones, fire and fury.

As both fights pressed on--Jessie's with Glaceon and Cliff's with Ryperior--Swalot turned to get a look at the last of the Rocket posse to notice that he had been staring back all this time. Swalot grinned. "Well, guess it's just you and me now." he decided, shifting his body the way a pokemon with the lack of feet does.

The shinx slanted his eyes. "You are no match for the power of fire burning deep within my soul." he replied with a confidence not seen much with himself.

The purple stomach chuckled. "Oh really?" he coaxed. "Come and get me then." He spread his tiny arms out as wide as possible and stuck out his gut, ready for any physical attack the weak electric-type would bring. To his delight, James reacted completely how he had predicted.

"Behold, the Great Moltres!" he bellowed, bolting after his foe. He jumped up with a full-force tackle right into the swalot's center...however, instead of inflicting damage, the stomach's reflexes stopped him in mid-attack and fired him in the opposite direction. James's back slammed into a nearby tree before his entire body plopped onto the ground. From the force of James's weight, an apple fell from a swaying branch and bumped his head, quickly bringing him back into reality. He looked himself over and gasped, suddenly figuring out that he was not a legendary bird--he had just been fantasizing again that whole time. Swalot's shadow grew over him as he approached, and James's green eyes grew wide and he backed up to the tree in fear.

"Hah, you've gotta be the weakest little moltres **I've** ever seen." the purple blob remarked coolly.

James trembled. This was scarier than a million oddishs any day! "W-what're you gonna do to me?" he asked nervously, shrinking down in hopes the poison-type would leave him alone.

Swalot did not leave. "Oh, nothing much." he replied instead, flicking his mustache, then added without any emotion, "Just want to play around with you a little."

Beads of sweat dripped down James's forehead. "P-play?" he stammered. "Um...I'm a little busy at the moment...please leave a message after the beep..." The swalot gave him a confused look. It was silent for a couple seconds. "BEEP!" James yelled, then tried to bound away to safety. Unfortunately, he didn't get anywhere before Swalot plucked him from the ground by his tail and shook him tauntingly in front of his face.

"Alright, then I have a message for you..." the purple pokemon said, bringing the struggling creature close to his mouth. "BON APPITITE!" With that, his huge pie hole opened and he dropped James down inside. There was a scream and a splash within the interior of the swalot's belly. He chuckled as he felt the small paws beating against him from inside, trying to escape.

"How do you like being somebody's dinner, shinxy boy?" he jeered. The only response he got were the muffled gurgling noises of the electric-type drowning in his stomach acids. Swalot beamed in his success. "You were easy to get rid of. My work here is done."

Meanwhile, nearby Jessie was still trying to get a few blows in to the glaceon, mostly her face if nothing else in hopes to ruin the pokemon's beauty and glory forever--however, she hadn't managed to do much besides dodging the agile attacks of the ice-type. Glaceon was too fast and no matter how hard she tried, it seemed impossible to get on the offensive side.

An ice beam came near the poochyena but she evaded it and the freezing cold laser ended up hitting the ground beneath their feet.

Jessie tossed her head over her shoulder as the glaceon kept up with the chase. "How many times are you going to fire at me until you actually get a hit?" she pestered, a large smirk planted across her lips. The glaceon snarled in response, fed up with the insults.

"I don't tolerate rudeness from simpletons like you!" she shouted, shooting out another couple of ice balls at random mostly out of sheer anger.

Jessie narrowed her eyes, dodging the ice and bouncing off the foundation of a tree for support. She glared hotly at the glaceon. "Excuse me, but what did you just call me?!" she questioned threateningly.

Glaceon chucked more chunks of ice at the dark type. "I called you a simpleton!" she retorted. "Is that not good enough for you? Perhaps you would prefer _ugly old hag_?!"

Jessie's tolerance level had reached an all-time low. "Oh, you've done it now! Prepare for pain! Lots and lots of pain!" she boomed, turning around with her jaws open wide, ready to snag onto any part of the glaceon's body that risked coming in close contact.

Much to Jessie's horror, the only thing her teeth caught onto was empty air and the loud snapping sound that followed afterwards proved that point very well. She looked around for where the glaceon was concealing herself when she heard the laughter. Her eyes quickly followed and met up with the target, who snickered at Jessie with over-confidence. Jessie charged up and readied a tackle, only this did not work either, as the glaceon used double team to protect herself. A million illusionary copies of the ice-type scattered around Jessie. She growled in confusion as she scanned for the real one.

"Haha, didn't expect that one, now did we..._rookie_?" All the glaceons' mouths moved in sync.

Whether she had focused enough to find it or made a lucky guess, nobody knew--but what Jessie _did_ know was that she wanted to chew up that good-for-nothing for all she was worth. Her mouth clamped down hard onto the real Glaceon's head brace and she responded by tossing and twisting to try to get the little black furball off. Jessie tried her hardest to hold on and she kept at it for a good while, but soon enough it became too much and she was tossed onto the ground. She began getting back up again just as the glaceon approached.

"Tsk, tsk...that was very foolish..." Glaceon taunted. "It all just bites you back in the end, doesn't it?"

Jessie gritted her teeth and without thinking, jumped back up to try to get another bite attack to the eeveelution's face. Unfortunately, the tables were turned--Glaceon fired an ice beam directly at the attacker and Jessie's lunging figure became frozen in a solid cube of ice.

"You put up quite a fight, but now...it's over." Glaceon said with a wicked smile, putting her face close up to the immobile Jessie's. She almost saw the poochyena bare her fangs from inside, intent on getting revenge. This didn't scare off Glaceon, and she waltzed back up to Swalot, who was standing nearby.

"Got rid of the poochyena?" asked Swalot quizzingly.

Glaceon nodded. "Yup. And the shinx?"

"Good as gone." he replied. "See here." With an odd coughing motion, a semi-unconscious James was flung out of Swalot's stomach, and landed in a crumpled heap in front of the frozen Jessie. His body was almost completely covered in purple sludge.

Glaceon lifted her head triumphantly. "Good, those two are done. Now let's go help Ryperior and take on the quilava once and for all." Right after these words were spoken, the overly-muscular leader of Team Brutal fell right in front of the two shocked faces. Both Glaceon and Swalot watched in horror as Cliff jumped onto the body in victory.

"Not so fast." he told them.

Glaceon scowled. "But how?...Rhyperior..."

Cliff snarled and the two of them back away, a bit startled.

"Uhhh...what're you gonna do with us?" came Swalot's shaky voice, sounding much like the frightened James he had recently finished digesting. He almost regretted bullying the electric-type now.

Cliff leaped swiftly off of Rhyperior and stepped closer to the other two pokemon--both terrified without the assistance of their leader. "I could attack you, and finish you like I did to him." he gestured to the fallen rhino-like pokemon. The two others winced as they saw what had been done to Rhyperior. Cliff went on. "Or..." They looked up. "You can hand over the aron and let us be on our way without a fuss." Glaceon and Swalot looked to one another, nodded, and looked back to Cliff.

"The aron's all yours, Clifton...just let us go!" replied an eager Swalot.

Cliff tried not to hide his smile. He had won. "Of course."

Rhyperior got up weakly alongside his comrades and groaned. Glaceon and Swalot looked to him in concern.

"Hey Boss, you alright?" Glaceon asked worriedly, checking over his wounds. The rock-type growled and pushed her away.

"I'm fine!" he roared. He then looked to Cliff, who picked up the trembling aron in his arms. All the events had scared her half to death, and tears were steaming down the youngster's face as Cliff cuddled her to his chest.

Rhyperior seemed disguisted by the sight. "Clifton..." he growled as they turned to leave, causing the fire-type to lift his head. "You haven't heard the end of us. We'll be back...and we'll take care of you once and for all!" The three of them retreated a ways into the forest.

"The nerve..." Cliff muttered under his breath once he was sure they were gone. He looked down at the aron and she looked up at him, sniffing up some tears. "It's alright...we'll take you home now to your daddy. Everything is going to be fine." He patted her on the back. She wiped her eyes.

"Thank you so much...I was so scared..." she breathed. "Those pokemon were really strong..."

Cliff nodded. "Yeah, but don't worry...they're gone now." he replied. "Let's just go home and forget about this, OK?" It was silent for a second when some choking sounds came from behind. Cliff spun around just in time to see James coughing and sputtering in a mess of sludge and plopping back onto the ground.

"I'm...I'm alive..." he gasped.

"Oh, krabbycakes! James!" Cliff shouted. He raced up to the defeated shinx with the aron still in his arms. "What happened to you? What happened to Jessie?"

James took some deep breaths, extremely grateful for his intake of air. "Well...we were knocked out a bit..." he muttered, sweatdropping. "Last time I saw Jessie, she was tangling with that blue eevee thingy..."

"Oh, right! The glaceon!" Cliff recalled. He instantly looked up and saw Jessie trapped helplessly inside the ice.

"Hoo boy! She's frozen solid!" he observed. "Perhaps I could break her free, without the use of fire." He tightened his fist, took a deep breath and aimed it toward a cracking spot in the ice prison. The single shards shattered to the ground and Jessie landed on the ground, her fur a bit wet from the incident.

"Grrrrrrrr...that...that POKEMON! I can't believe her!" Jessie raged, mostly to herself. "Oh, she is so gonna get it the next time we meet! I swear, I--"

"Jessie--calm down! The aron..." Cliff reminded. The aron just smiled.

"It's OK." she said. "I don't mind...much." She nestled into Cliff's fur, growing shy. "M-my name's Patch...thanks for saving me."

Underneath all the sludge, James's face brightened. "Well...uh...you're welcome." he replied, equally as unsure of himself. Jessie pounded him over the head.

"Ow! What was that for?"

"For being such a dopey idiot!"

"What do you mean?"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "As if you didn't know. That Swalot should have been easy for you...but you just _always _have to mess things up, don't you James? I mean, letting him eat you like that? What are you, a pokemon or a hamburger?"

James stuck out his lower lip in disapproval. "Oh, and of course getting frozen into a giant ice cube is somehow better."

Jessie laughed. "Well, at least I survived longer than **you**. No surprise there."

James tried to fight back but found himself speechless. Cliff just chuckled softly, the aron named Patch slowly following suit. "Hey, we've done enough good for now. Why don't we just call it a day and go home?" he invited.

Jessie and James looked at each other. Did he just say they've done enough "good"? They fought on the side of justice? _Well...that certainly adds a new number to our record, _James thought, a little happier with what they got in the outcome. _At least we didn't blast off this time...wow, my body aches just thinking of it! Gee, it's not every day that I say this, but that was a fairly nice change, not having to end our day in defeat for once...even if I really didn't do anything to help. _He smiled as he looked to Jessie, who had pretty much read his thoughts like a book.

She snorted. She still did not quite enjoy fighting against evil on the side of good. _I mean, aren't we supposed to be the villains? This is sooo messed up. I'd give anything just to have my life as a felon back. But still...I guess it _is _sort of pleasant, having victory for once. Oh, what am I thinking? This is all so very stupid...arrrg, James and I have to get out of this place, before we get transformed into snobby "goody-goodies". It's getting out of control._

Both Rockets were taken from their thoughts at the voice of Cliff. "Hey guys, we're gonna go now." he informed them, taking out a weird, glowing sphere-like object.

"What is that?" James asked curiously.

"Rescue Team Badge." he explained. "I'll tell you more about it tomorrow. Basically, this is our quick needs of transportation back to the Square. It will take us back there much quicker than it would to just walk, and also helps us avoid more obstacles along the way. All you have to do is get within range and we should all be good to go." He held up the badge.

"Does...does this mean you're taking me back to Daddy?" she asked eagerly. Her cute, polite voice almost made Jessie want to gag.

"Oh...of course, kid." she said, trying to keep her cool. "Let's go." She headed up to the transportation device along with Patch.

"But Jessie!" James whined.

Jessie turned around, aggravated. "What NOW?!"

James looked down at his feet and tried to pick himself up, however he was still in the sludge and couldn't budge himself enough to take a step. "Errrrr...I think I'm stuck."

Jessie fell onto her back, anime-style, and Cliff looked to James and sweatdropped.

"Well...that could be a problem..."

...

_OK...is it just me, or our these chapters getting longer and longer? -freaks out- Well, this one had a reason. If I stopped it in the middle of all this stuff...we probably would've had to have another cliffhanger! -gasp- And I wanted to get rid of this one...really badly. It takes a great toll of my life, knowing people won't hunt me down, clone me and kill my clones. T.T Anyway, hope you liked, even though it was late. (AGAIN! XD) I must apologise, I've only seen a couple D/P episodes so I'm really not too familiar with the new motto. 'sides, Version 1.0 doesn't have very many Meowth parts in it, which was good...I mean, with lack of Meowth and all. I know the last line is something like "Team Rocket's in your face!" or something, but that's pretty much all for the ole' memory banks. -is ashamed- The battle seemed kinda fast-paced to me too...so sorry for that as well. Hey, I'm not the best author in the world, alright! -sweatdrops-_

_Oh yeah, and I have a little something else to say...that doesn't have to do with this story. XD I still have up the poll for MTR, so...please vote! Please! I'm beggin' ya! Even if you don't read the story, I need more votes so I can make the new chapter for the people who are. Thanks much for your concern. :D_

_And without further ado...I be gone now! -vanishes-_


	9. One Heck of a Battle

**Disclaimer: Whatever. :P**

_Wow...well, I've done it again. I've left a story hanging limp for a long period of time and finally got to updating it. :D I must say, this is the most **busiest **school year I've ever had, at least to the extent of what I remember! I'm in way too many extracurricular activities, musical lessons, and not to mention, a whole lotta homework. I rejoice at the short hour or two I get each day to myself--oh, if Fall Break truly exists, it can only come too soon! So, with that being said, I hope I have a good enough excuse for not being as "active" in my writing as I previously was, even though I wish I could be. 3: Anyway, enjoy this next chapter! Yurp, I'm aware it may be boring, but the fun stuff is coming up soon, or as soon as soon is according to how often I update, I promise. So...once again, enjoy. And don't forget to leave a review or two. Haha, that rhymed. X3_

...

"Can't we take a break...please...please..._PLEASE?!_" The cat slumped down onto the ground, panting and wheezing. He certainly wasn't used to this kind of training, in fact he wasn't used to much of any at all. Flower approached him and laughed.

"Meowth, we've only been training for about two minutes and you're already tired?"

He looked back at her, a little aggravated. "Two minutes? Ya call _dat _two minutes?! It seemed a lot longer den dat, so you can just tell me the truth, K?! In reality, ya meant two HOURS, didn't ya? Two entire hours! Dat's a lot longer den minutes!"

Flower sweatdropped as Calix appeared by her side, his left fist resting in his right palm in a fighting stance. "What seems to be the problem?" he quired seriously.

Flower looked up at him. "I think the _Stronger One_ is getting a little tired of fighting." she joked, prodding Meowth to get up through a little teasing. "He's a little wiped out from the battle and wants to rest. Oh well, I guess he isn't really as strong as we thought he was...was he?" It worked almost like a charm and Meowth almost immediately picked himself up with a counter remark.

"Hey, yous got it all wrong! I **love **fightin' all right?! I just wanna take a break, dat's all!" he growled and Flower smiled, knowing they had him back for at least another couple minutes.

Calix raised his brow. "Alright, then. We shall continue--I would like to give you another test, but keep in mind that you must wait until the end of the exam to take a break."

Meowth put a paw to his forehead. "Aw, but Calix..." he whined. "We just fought for so long, and I'm gettin' tired! I don't tink I can do dis test! Can we just call it a disqualification and forget about it? Or at least do it a little later?"

"We _could_ do it later, if that is what you wish." Calix replied seriously. "But I recommend doing it now, while you're already pumped up to battle. Forcing yourself to fight when tired will help build your stamina. Plus, the quicker we get through the training I'd like to cover, the earlier we can get a move on and begin our journey."

Meowth sighed. He looked over to Flower, who gave him a smile and a nod, possibly in hopes of taking Calix's advice. _Da tings I put myself through sometimes, _he thought. _I can't believe I'm even agreein' to help out with savin' da woild in da foist place...but I got myself into dis mess, and I can get __myself out of it, too. Plus, Flower and da odda pokemon are countin' on me... _Finally, he shrugged. "Alright," he answered. "We can keep goin'...but after dis test, could we go in and get a snack, maybe?"

"Sure," said Calix. "If that is what you would like. But right now, we're going to have to focus." He re-punched one fist into the other and stared down at the two pokemon by his feet. "Now...Meowth and Flower, this next test I would like to introduce you to will determine your teamwork skills."

"Teamwoik? As in, me and her workin' togedda?" Meowth quired.

"Correct." he recited. "You will be doing a double battle in which you and Flower will fight by one another's side and help each other succeed. There will be many a-times when you'll be facing multiple enemies rather than just one, so you need to prepare yourselves by practising now."

"OK...I tink I get it." Meowth tilted his head and scratched himself on the chin. "But Calix, how can we do a double battle if dere's two of us and only one of you?"

Flower also made a confused look. "Say, Meowth's right. Who will be our other opponent?"

Calix smirked. "You will not be fighting me at all." he informed them. "You already know some of my own strategies, so I wouldn't be introducing you to anything new at all--Meowth will learn better if he's put up against pokemon of different types and special abilities. And Flower, you'll learn better too--you haven't had any actual battles for an entire year or so, so you're going to have to get back on track as well. I expect you two to strive to do your best."

"Yeah but Calix..." trailed Meowth. "You still didn't answer our question. Who are we gonna be fightin', exactly?"

Calix's eye twinkled. "You'll find out soon enough."

"I don't quite understand...why can't you tell us?" asked Flower. "I mean, wouldn't it be reasonable for us to be able to plan out what we're going to be doing? If we knew what types the pokemon were and what moves they had, it would be easier for us to think it over beforehand."

"Precisely." agreed Calix. "And that's exactly why I don't want to tell you--I don't want you to be aware of the pokemon you're getting pitted against."

"Uhh...why?" questioned Meowth. He was starting to get a sneaking suspicion that Calix was just trying to make his life harder in every way, shape and form possible. Was he just trying to tire him out more for the entertainment? So he could laugh at Meowth's misery and tell him it was all a big joke? This theory, however, opted out when Calix spoke up again.

"Because," he stated wisely. "When you're out traveling in dungeons and you all of a sudden come across a pokemon or two, you aren't going to know what they are or when they're going to appear, even. Before you entered the dungeon, you would have had no idea whether you were going to come across a large, intimidating salamance, a tiny sunkern or perhaps nothing at all. Upon facing these pokemon, you won't have time to think about what you are going to do or how you are going to do it. All you have to do then is battle, and think about it from there."

"So...how are we going to know when the test starts?" Flower inquired.

"You won't." the lucario put simply. "You'll take your place at this side of the field and I'll sit here and watch. I'll bring out your opponents when I'm ready. Of course, it won't be exactly like an encounter you'd have in a dungeon since there, you wouldn't know a battle was coming in the first place--but alas, this is the best way I can test you. So, with that in mind," he said after his explanation. "I expect you to take your positions at the left side of the battlefield. We'll go on from there, alright?"

"OK." both Meowth and Flower let out in sync. Meowth couldn't help noticing the eagerness in the grass-type's eyes--could it be she was **excited **for this test? If so, what could be the reason? Was it because she hadn't battled in so long? Was it because she wanted to fight alongside the _Stronger One_? Did she enjoy making Calix proud? Meowth shook his head back and forth in attempt to get rid of the thoughts as he followed Flower to their rightful spot on the field. He knew he had to empty his mind of questions right now and focus solely on the match, and that's exactly what he intended to do, at least for the moment.

The other end of the battlefield stood in front of him. It seemed so far away, yet so nearby. It was an odd feeling, really. Sure, he had been a pokemon all his life--point was, he never really _battled _before. Well, of course he used some scratch attacks and fury swipes every once in a while, and he even got pretty involved with Calix's tiring fight. But this was strangely different; to stand on an actual battlefield and await a battle he knew was coming. It was almost like living as a trainer's pokemon. Meowth thought back to the twerp and that annoying pikachu is but for once, tried to put himself in Pikachu's shoes, or perhaps feet. What would it truly be like to be involved in an official match with a trainer--his trainer--standing closeby, shouting out attacks? Well, he would have no choice but to do what his trainer wished, wouldn't he? It was almost like freedom itself was a limited factor. Meowth thought back through his life, ever since he was an abandoned kitten, to his days living with street cats and in Team Rocket today. There had never been a time, not one, where he was owned as a pokemon who trained and battled on command. It seemed so foreign and alien...and even though he wasn't really put into a situation where he had to follow given orders by a trainer, he was still in an uneasy spot. He, Meowth of Team Rocket, was actually going to have a fair fight on an actual battlefield alongside a pokemon he had just met and didn't know too much about. Everything seemed so...so...

"Meowth, what are you pondering?" asked Flower curiously. Meowth gasped as he realised he had once again, drifted off into the endless questions burdening his mind.

"Oh, erm...nothing! Nothing, Flower!" he answered nervously. He looked over at Calix--the lucario was still sitting in an Indian Position, observing the two of them as if it was the most interesting thing he'd seen in his life. _What da heck is up with dat guy?, _Meowth thought with a wide-eyed expression. _Dat look is startin' ta freak me out! _He turned back to Flower. "Hey, when's this battle ting gonna start anyway?" he quired. "Haven't we been waitin' long enough?"

Flower's eyes glanced upward, almost innocently. "I dunno." she replied, shrugging and smiling. She looked back at Meowth. "Calix said it could be any time. He's going to do it when he's ready, I think."

Meowth rubbed his back--it was starting to ache from standing up for so long. "Well, what about when _we're _ready? I'm breakin' a sweat just standin' around here! And...and dis _sun_!" He wiped some beads of sweat off his forehead. "It's stinkin' hot out here! Could he hurry it up already?"

Flower laughed. Somehow, she found pretty much all of Meowth's sarcastic comments to her amusement. "It'll happen in due time, Meowth." she promised. "Just wait."

Meowth grunted and crossed his arms. He allowed himself to scan the battlefield once more. It was quiet and barren without any opponents. Just he and the ivysaur, standing there in the hot sun. _What's da point in dis? We're gonna burn ta death before da match even starts, _Meowth thought to himself, sweatdropping. And thus, he continued to wait.

Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait. Wait.

Meowth yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes. The warm touch of the sun on his back was beginning to make him feel tired. _Maybe I can just get some shut-eye, _he began to tell himself. _It doesn't look like anyting interesting is gonna be happenin' soon..._He was about to do just that when he heard a shuffle of feet. He opened his eyes to see Flower--she had become more alert and her body seemed tense. Meowth scratched his neck and yawned again. Flower looked over at him.

"Meowth," she said finally. "I think that's them."

Meowth smacked his lips and stretched his arms into the air. "Who?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Our opponents...you know, for the battle?" she cocked her head, wondering if he had just suddenly forgot the whole reason why they were standing on that field in the first place.

"Hoih? Oh right, da battle." Meowth sighed lowly. "It's about time den, aint it?" He glanced around in the area where Calix was residing, very much thinking that the pokemon would be coming out of the direction, but when he spied nothing, he became a bit confused.

"Uh, where are dey, exactly?"

Flower pointed up into the sky. Meowth made a weird face. _Da sky? What kind of pokemon are comin' from da sky?, _he wondered. _I mean, I hoid of strange entrances but dis is ridiculous! _Although he could've sworn it was some kind of joke, Meowth peered up into the sky above to which Flower was pointing. Only then, did he see somewhat of a weird sight.

Two pokemon--what looked to be a staraptor and a delcatty--seemed to be standing on two separate thin plates of metal, both of which began to slowly descend to the ground. The pokemon, who were both levitating above the dumbstruck trainees, began to float on their silver plates to the other side of the battlefield. Once they managed to make it to the correct position, the silver plates the pokemon were standing on suddenly disappeared. The staraptor and delcatty both leaped down at the exact time as the disappearance was happening and landed perfectly on their feet. Meowth and Flower stared, unable to keep their eyes off the unusual sight even after it was over, their jaws sticking wide open at what they had just witnessed.

"What da freak?" Meowth commented as he finally caught his tongue. He and Flower both looked at each other, cocking their eyebrows in puzzlement. She seemed to be thinking the same exact thing, or at least close to it.

"I am Staraptor!" bellowed the large bird pokemon in a gruff voice. He spread his wings out wide from each side of his body in attempt to intimidate his foes. It worked slightly--that is, it worked on Meowth. The cat made a frightened sound and backtracked a couple quick steps before diving completely behind Flower.

"Aaaaaah! I don't want ta fight dat big, ginormous boid!" he persisted, his body shaking as he clutched onto the budding flower on his friend's back for protection. The delcatty then stood a pose from beside her companion.

"And I am Delcatty," she purred with a vicious smile. She showed a nice set up teeth from under her lips, and Meowth again made somewhat of a yelping sound as he sunk lower and lower behind the grass-type in front of him.

"Meowth...don't be afraid." Flower whispered to Meowth for encouragement. "If you can beat Calix, a pokemon with a type advantage, not to mention an almost solid resistance to normal-type moves, you should be able to rough these two up a bit. Don't let their size and structure scare you away."

"But Flower," Meowth whimpered, trying not to let his voice shake. "Dat staraptor is a flyin' type. You're a grass type. You wouldn't have a chance! And I can't take dem on all be myself."

Flower nodded. "That's right Meowth, you can't take them on by yourself. That's why you got me--that's why it's called a double battle. We'll do it together, hand-in-hand...erm, I mean, paw-in-paw." She giggled a little. "We can do this. You're the _Stronger One_, Meowth, and I'm not much of a shabby pokemon myself. Even if we lose, we'll still lose knowing we tried our best, alright? So what do you say we get in there and do this, for the sake of our training, and the sake of our saving the world?"

Meowth could only wonder what was making the ivysaur seem so brave. Well, she _had _battled before, at least according to some information he'd gathered, so she must be used to the common pokemon fight. In his own world, he'd seen small pokemon like machop and taillow defeat opponents more than half their size and without any fear or regret.

That was it--no more being cowardly for Meowth, nah uh. He stood up confidently by his partner and put his hands on his hips. "OK Flower...let's do dis." he decided. He took a step forward and, because he wasn't watching the ground below him, fell down into the dirt due to tripping over a rock. Flower had a worried look on her face and she gently touched Meowth's shoulder, ready to support him and help him up if needed. Luckily, that wasn't the case. In response to the ivysaur's touch, he lifted his face, allowing dirt to slide down.

"...I'm alright." he laughed nervously, getting up slowly and wiping off the other excess dirt off his body before proceeding. Flower just sweatdropped, but couldn't help grinning. Meowth sure was the weirdest pokemon she'd ever met, but she still liked him nonetheless. That silly feline...

"Incompetent fools." the staraptor spoke up, ruffling his wings in an impatient gesture. "Let the fight commence, already."

"Yes, darlings," the delcatty agreed, still showing glimmering white fangs. "Don't keep us waiting too long. The battle must go on, that is, unless you're too afraid." The teasing tone clearly detected in her voice made Meowth glare back in anger.

"I ain't afraid!" he protested.

"Then fight us." the staraptor growled through his sharp, pointed beak. Meowth looked at Flower and she winked at him in a gesture that notified she was ready. He then looked at Calix, watching their every move from the side of the battlefield. His red eyes looked up at Meowth, almost as if urging him to get into the fight. Meowth turned back to his opponents and sighed. _Well, here goes..., _he thought, almost casually. Unsure to which pokemon was going to make the first move, he took his chances and dove into the battle, retracting his claws out as he leaped into the fray.

"Fury swiiiiippppeeesss!"

This gave the signal that the battle had officially started. A strange sound, almost like a battle cry, arose from Staraptor's mouth as he and Delcatty pressed forward. Meowth lifted his claws to strike down on Starpator's head and he was about to do so, but was pushed forcefully to the ground by the bird's muscular wing.

"Nice attempt cat, but you're no match for the power of the great Staraptor." he snorted. Meowth tried to get up but wasn't quick enough before Delcatty came up from out of nowhere and landed a Tackle right into him.

"Yow!" Meowth screeched reply.

"That hurt?" Delcatty asked mockingly. "Try this for size!" She spun around fast and, before Meowth could do anything about it, whipped him right across the face with her tail. Meowth spun around and around dizzily like a top whilst balancing on one foot before he fell directly on his bottom end, orange torchics dancing around his head.

"Hey! I won't let you do that to Meowth!" Flower growled protectively. She stood up on her hind legs and shot a careful aim of razor leaves at Delcatty's body. Some of them barely brushed by, but thanks to her thought-out course of direction, most of them managed to make their strike. Delcatty gasped.

"How dare you!" she scoffed, turning her attention away from Meowth and facing Flower with an open mouth. "Assist!" she called out, before blowing a huge puff of air straight at the ivysaur. Flower howled painfully as the wind rammed into her with lightning-paced speed and pushed her a far distance down the field--that attack, whirlwind, had been pulled from Staraptor's moves and dealt a lot of damage to Flower given the type advantage.

As he was facing off with Staraptor, Meowth heard Flower's scream and looked over to her. She was on the other side of the field, far away from the battle.

"Yipes! Flower!" Meowth called out.

"Hahaha, can't do much without your girlfriend around to save you, huh Kitty?" teased the Staraptor. Before Meowth could do anything in response, he found the sharp beak pierce into his belly in a peck attack. He too, collapsed to the ground, grabbing his stomach and clenching his teeth--he never knew how painful it could really be, to battle like a real pokemon. He hadn't scored one attack, yet his body was slowly starting to get covered in scars from the hard damage dealt by his speedy, quick-witted, intelligent opponents.

Flower regained herself and caught up into the battle. She jumped up in front of Meowth and spat small, green spheres at the bird, thus enabling them to stick to his feathers.

"What's this?" Staraptor asked, annoyed at the small green seeds that had so easily latched onto him. He shook his wing furiously to try to get them off but no matter how much he tried, it was to no avail. Suddenly, as he continued his struggle, an odd feeling of energy being sucked from his body was felt and he yelled out in frustration. The energy being absorbed was then transferred over to Flower, who's head snapped up a bit at the intake.

"Flower! You alright?" Meowth asked to the grass-type standing next to him. "Dat woilwind looked like it hoit ya pretty bad!"

Flower smiled. "Yeah, I'm good. Leech Seed is helping me out a little more. Thanks for your concern over my well-being." she beamed. "How about you, you OK?"

Meowth also nodded. "Yeah...I tink I'll be fine." he lied. _No Meowth, you aint gonna be fine! Dis battle is impossible, give up now!, _his mind scolded, but Meowth shook his head and tried to keep his cool. No reason to back down now, not when Flower was already trying so hard for their win. He would have to keep going at this a little longer, no matter how much pain he had to sacrifice in order to do so...or maybe just as long as he could stay mentally sane.

"Wroooooooar! Come back here!" growled the Staraptor, raging with fury. He charged toward Flower, diving down at her with his beak, but he was stopped once again when the leech seed took its second effect. He cluttered to the ground, groaning as more and more of his energy was taken away. Flower sighed in relief, and taking her chance, she tackled his body full-force in a double-edge attack. Unfortunately, the effects of the double-edge ended up hurting herself a bit in the process, and she flew back a little ways from recoil damage, but nevertheless she was able to recover quickly and regain herself in the fray.

Meowth was busy watching Flower's fight. _Wow, she sure is a good fighter, _he thought in awe. _She seems so innocent and naïve most of da time but when she's in battle, she's just as good as any ol' pikachu. _

It interested him quite a lot, so much in fact that he wasn't paying attention to what was going on around him--that is, until he heard the footprints approach. He spun in a circle a little too late in order to face whom he knew was the Delcatty, who immediately pinned him to the ground. Meowth yelped as he took the sudden hit. He began to try to get up, but Delcatty's paws fastened onto him tightly and disabled his escape. "Haha. Gotcha, you cute little thing, you. Thought you could escape, eh?"

Meowth struggled from underneath. "Hey, leggo of me, ya monstrous fleabag!" he retorted. He tried to lift an arm and maybe give her a good scratch across the face, much like he did to Calix--only much to his dismay, his scrawny arms were being pushed flat into the ground thanks to the weight of the delcatty's paws.

Delcatty's face twisted to disgust at Meowth's insult. "Hmph. Stubborn little brat." she snarled, pushing down harder, Meowth sweating and trying his best to hold in a yowl of pain. "To ridicule such as face as this?!" she continued, staring at him with her eyes full of fury. "I'll make you wish you never did that," she promised. "I'm going to make you bow down to my beauty, and worship my very charm, you hear me?"

Meowth stuck out his tongue. "Naw, you can't do dat!" he countered.

Delcatty's mouth pulled up into a wicked smile. "Oh, but I can." she replied. Before Meowth could even speak another word against it, Delcatty leaned in close and blew a flurry of pink and red-coloured hearts down at the normal-type beneath her feet. He coughed and gagged, squeezing his eyes shut as he inhaled the strong scent of perfume. Delcatty just grinned even wider. As soon as his loud and obnoxious coughing fit was over, she jumped backwards from off of him and eyed carefully as he slowly picked himself off the ground.

Calix looked up in interest to what he was observing. He had been watching the whole time and witnessed Meowth's helpless attraction to Delcatty. He nodded knowingly. _Let's see what he'll do about this..., _he fathomed curiously, sitting up and never taking his red eyes off the scene.

"Cough...ughhh..." Meowth wailed, shaking as he got up from the field. "Dat was...some kind of...strong. What...was dat...?" His eyes fluttered open. He could barely remember what just happened and he began to look around as opticals adjusted to the bright sun. It was then when he thought he saw something...interesting. He rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming, and when the image became clear, his heart automatically leaped out of his chest.

"O-o-oh my woid!" he gasped, almost falling back as he grabbed his chest, where he could feel his heartbeat picking up at a wild pace. "Who...who is **dat**?" His gaze was fixed on the gorgeous cat pokemon set in front of him. Her purple-black eyes blinked flirtatiously and her tail swished back and forth from behind. She was beautiful...her gold fur, elegant legs and the glittery aura that seemed to radiate right off her body. Oh, she was...stunning. Meowth drooled. He walked over to her with his paws up to his face, being pulled towards her almost like zombie.

"Haha, yes. That's it, Meowth." Delcatty purred tauntingly as he approached, hyponotised by the Attract bestowed upon him. "It's about time you finally cooperate. How about a little something for my appreciation?" When Meowth didn't answer, too love-struck for words, she apparently took it as a _yes. _As soon as Meowth had made it within arms length of the other cat, she grabbed out for him and, once in her grasp, began to toss him around back and forth.

"Ayee...yi yi...eee ow..." Meowth mumbled between blows as his face was struck multiple times by Delcatty's Doubleslap.

Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!

Meowth was tossed down to the ground in a heap of beige and brown fur. "Mmmph..." he grumbled lightly, picking himself up. "Love...love hurts..." He then worked his way up to the Delcatty again, hearts returning to his eyes, singing horribly off-key as he did so. "_Dooo yoooouuu belieeeeeve in loOooOoOooove, do yoooooouuu belieeevee it's TRUUUUUUUEEE..."_

Delcatty snickered in amusement. Meowth was just way too infatuated to care how much she roughed him up--it was just to easily. Delcatty, eager for more, strode up to the cat with his paws up to his chest, sighing romantically. She laughed to herself once more, then knocked him over silly with a gentle push of her paw. She watched intently as he slumped back down due to the impact. "Ha...you're no threat to me, you bad excuse for a pokemon." She lifted a clawed paw up into the air, just about ready to strike it down onto her target. "Let's finish this." she decided. She just started bringing it down when a loud scream forced her to pause.

"AAAAAAHHHHHH! Meowth! Help! Help me!"

"_Oh you can bet dat I belieEEeeEeeeEve it tooOoOoOo..." _The hearts instantly snapped out of Meowth's eyes as he got hit back into reality. "Hoih? Flower?! What--" He looked up just in time to see the delcatty's claws coming down on him and he yelled in astonishment, sliding out of the way before he could be slashed across the stomach, escaping the harsh pain that would've come along with it.

"Hey!" growled Delcatty, her claws scratching into the dirt where Meowth had been laying only moments before. She glared at him with great malice as she tried to retract her claws from out of the rough dirt where they were unfortunate enough to get hopelessly stuck. "Grrrr...you _better_ run." she warned under her breath, continuing her attempts to yank her claws free.

Meowth, no longer in his conflict with Delcatty (at least for the moment) looked back and forth at the other end of the battlefield, hoping to find Flower. "Flower? Flower?! Where are ya?"

"Meowth, I'm...I'm--AAUGH!" she yelped. Turning into the direction of her voice, Meowth was shocked to see Flower on the ground, almost beat. She had some painful places on her body where she was struck with the staraptor's unforgiving Peck. She shivered, having taken so many hits from the miserable flying attacks. Staraptor, like Delcatty, didn't let his chance go to waste. He was hovering in the sky over the leaf-type, his shadow covering her up completely as he prepared to dive down from above.

Meowth clenched his fist. No words could explain why he felt this way, but to see his friend like this? He may have only just met her, but just the same, she had been so nice and kindly to him and he had begun to like her a lot as a true friend, even through the short duration of time they had spent together. He slanted his eyes at the bird pokemon. "Hey, Big Boid!" he shouted up at Staraptor. "Got lost on yer way ta Sesame Street?!" The insult brought fire to the flying type's eyes.

"What...did you...just call me...?" he stammered in fury.

"Big Boid!" Meowth repeated. "I called ya Big Boid, 'cos dat's what you are! Except if you ask me, I'd tink you're actin' a lot more like dat green blob in da trash can...what was his name again? Oh yeah...OSCAR!"

"GROOOOO! You **dare**?!" the staraptor gasped. His face turned bright red with anger and he raced toward Meowth at top speed, targeting his beak straight for him. Meowth saw the sight and instantly paled. He hadn't expected to make Staraptor _that _mad--it was just pure horrifying. All out of ideas, Meowth did what he does best--raising his arms into the air, screaming, and running for his freaking life.

Meanwhile, from not too far away, Delcatty laughed in victory as she unlatched her claws from the ground. She instantly began looking for Meowth and, quickly seeing him being chased by Staraptor, decided to join in.

"Hah...that little freak's really got what's coming for him now." she chuckled to herself. Flower's eyes widened as she saw Delcatty. _She's going to get revenge on Meowth, _she thought bitterly, biting her lip. _He won't stand a chance against both of these pokemon--I have to...I have to do something...but what? I feel...I feel so weak...but...we have to win this...together..., _Flower stood back onto her feet, revived by her confidence. She saw Delcatty in a pouncing position, waiting for Staraptor to bait Meowth over into her trap. She licked her lips eagerly.

Flower sweatdropped. Well, _that _was starting to creep her out. What was she planning to do after the battle? Eat them, or something? She shook her head. _No time to be pondering!, _she scolded in her head. _I gotta help Meowth..._ Slanting her eyes with determination, Flower jumped in front of the delcatty. The large cat was at first stunned, then annoyed by the ivysaur getting in her way.

"Hey! Just what do you think you're doing, missy?" she demanded. She crouched down even lower with her eyes glued onto Flower, snarling as she did so.

Flower returned the glare. "Helping Meowth out...this _is _a double battle, if you weren't aware." she answered. She saw the delcatty shaking in fury. "So if you want to fight Meowth, you'll have to get through me first." Delcatty scowled. The normal-type reached out and smacked Flower across the face, but she was ready for it and absorbed the hit for all she was worth, managing not to fall back due to the force. Instead, she brought her head back up to face her opponent.

"My turn." she spoke softly. Delcatty seemed confused, but was unable to protest quickly enough. The ivysaur took a deep breath and focused intently before compressing a small amount of purple dust from out of the small gap inside the flower on her back. The flower refused to open nearly enough to pass down too much of it but nevertheless, the dust she had managed to squeeze out started to cover the delcatty with no time to spare and she landed on the ground, coughing in response to the violet-coloured gas surrounding her. As soon as it cleared, Delcatty fell onto her stomach, taking deep breaths. That had been a Poisonpowder attack, or at least a sample of it, no doubt, and the effect of it quickly took its toll on the cat.

Flower panted having taken some good energy into that last attack. Poisonpowder, or any move that required her to use the flower on her back took a lot of hard work, but she knew it was for the better if she learned little by little how to use those attacks. Her Poisonpowder, though not very good, had been worse before...so that was progress in itself. She just wished she could learn sooner.

Thinking about her budding flower reminded her of something. She looked up at the blazing sun...she had waited a long time to try out this move, but up to now, the thought of using it had never occurred to her. _OK, _she told herself. _She's under the effect of poison now...this could be my chance to finally try..._ She thought about it for a moment. Should she try it out, and risk losing this battle for her and Meowth? Or should she not? Either way, she was still feeling weak, and she was pretty sure Meowth wasn't doing so hot as well. She nodded, making her decision. It was worth a shot. Getting a small distance away from Delcatty, but still facing her on a perfect angle, Flower closed her eyes and began to start taking energy from the sun.

While Flower charged up her attack, from just across the battlefield, Staraptor was still chasing Meowth. "Coward! Come back and fight!" he snarled as the cat changed direction for the umpteenth time--he was turning sharply whenever the flying-type got close enough to strike, and he was beginning to get tired of it. He rose back into the sky, circling around a couple times to boost his speed with Agility. Once this was done, he picked up speed at an alarming rate and zoomed even faster in order to catch that meowth, not about ready to let him get away with shouting such insults.

"YAAAAAAAHHHH!" Meowth screamed again, grabbing at his face. There was no _way _he would be able to evade something so fast. Nevertheless, actions came before thoughts, and Meowth continued to run at his average speed of about two miles an hour. Staraptor gained on him with every second, and Meowth panicked--he knew his death neared with every step taken. Soon enough, Staraptor flew in close enough to beat the little cat to a pulp. He growled.

"You can't escape from me, you name-calling jerk!" the bird threatened. Meowth, hearing the voice so close by, stole a glance from behind his shoulder. He cried out in utter fear once it became evident of the staraptor's beak just a few inches away from contact. Nothing more could be done before he felt it the painful jab in his skin. Still screaming, he flew down into the dirt with a large thump. He lie there for a few seconds, moaning and unable to get up. He felt a shadow ensconce him and became aware of two large bird feet landing in front of his face.

"Nobody insults the Great Staraptor," he snarled viciously. "Understand? NOBODY!" He stamped his left foot on the ground, squawking in a terrible mania.

_Geesh, anger issues, _thought Meowth. And to think, of anyone to get on his bad side, it'd be himself. He was in for it now, he knew it. He watched as the staraptor once again lifted into the sky, only instead of striking at Meowth right away, he just flapped his wings wickedly and screamed at the top of his lungs, seemingly in a tantrum.

"You think you can just go shouting insults at _**ME?!**_" he fired down at Meowth. "Well you know _**WHAT **_pal?! You picked the _**WRONG **_bird to mess with! You know that? The _**WRONG **_bird!" When Meowth just smiled stupidly in response for lack of better display of emotion, Staraptor roared and steam protruded out of his nostrils. "That is _**IT**_!" he yelled. "I'm _**SICK **_of this! You aren't the _**ONLY **_one who knows how to insult! _**I'M **_not too bad at it myself! In fact, let me _**SHOW **_you!"

_Oh crap, _Meowth thought. _He's gonna swoop down on me. Gotta escape, pronto! _He used his arms to prop up his body as best he could without hurting himself too much then used his feet to support his back end and pushed the rest of his figure upright, which resulted in him managing to prop himself back into standing position. He was just about to dart out of the way when he was caught by surprise--Staraptor, in too much of a rampage, hadn't planned on skydiving down on him at all. Instead, he appeared to be spewing out...insults?

"_**--YOU SMART-ALECEY, BRAINLESS, NO-GOOD, ROTTEN, SORRY FLEABAG, WORTHLESS PIECE OF SCUM, DIRTY, IDIOTIC, NUMSKULL OF A CAT, NINCOMPOOP, SIMPLETON, IMBECISLE, IGNORANT LITTLE TWIT--"**_

Meowth sweatdropped. _Someone seems ta have gotten up on da wrong side of da nest, _he pondered. That staraptor was really going at it. Meowth had never heard so many insulting names crushed into one sentence at a time, and with such emphasis and meaning...well, unless he counted Jessie. Or Cassidy. Or his boss, Giovanni...alright, so the hordes of insults wouldn't be a first to himafter all. But still, it was pretty amazing stuff.

_Wait!, _Meowth suddenly realised. _Maybe Big Boid is too busy with his screamin' ta notice me if I tried to sneak away? Seems silly, but it's woith a shot. _Without a sound, he got on his tip-toes and began to slowly slink out of Staraptor's view.

Tip-toe, tip-toe. Sneak, sneak. Tip-toe, sneak.

_Hey, _Meowth thought in awe. _It's...it's woiking! I can't believe it...I'm gettin' away! It's woiken, it's woiken--_

_  
_"IT'S WOIKING!" he yelled excitedly to the heavens, without even stopping to think.

Staraptor turned his head toward Meowth. "And just _**WHERE **_you do think you're going now, HMMM?" he quired impatiently. "Trying to sneak away, eh? Well that ain't gonna work, pal! It _**AIN'T!**_" Claws extended from his talons as he prepared again for take off. "SO COME BACK HERE SO I CAN BUST YOUR BRAINS UP!"

Meowth sighed inwardly to himself. _Well, here we go again, _he thought miserably. _I swear, sometimes I can act like a bigger dope den even James. _Staraptor was ready to chase again, and Meowth had to force himself out of La-La Land in attempts to bring himself back to business. _Well, better start runnin' now, 'less I want ta be the next fried meowthburger special soived on a Sesame Street bun, _he assured himself before taking off again in a crazed frenzy. As he was running, he quickly spotted Flower in front of him. She was just standing there, yet she seemed to be concentrating very hard on...a certain something. The flower on her back was opened slightly and it looked almost like some of the light from of the sun was being absorbed into it. Meowth was pretty sure he saw something like this before--he's seen a bulbasaur use it, ironically just before he was blasted into the air for one of the millionth times in his life--the attack name was on the tip of his tongue...what was it?

_Oh, right! Solarbeam!, _Meowth gasped, his eyes widening. _Dat's one of da most powerful grass-type attacks! Wow, dat Flower must've been some serious battler or somethin' back in her time! Maybe...maybe she can...PROTECT ME FROM BIG BOID! Yeah, dat's right! _

Flower raised her brow when she saw Meowth run toward her and crouch behind her in attempts to hide from Staraptor, which wouldn't have worked at all for two reasons--you could clearly see his ears and charm sticking out from behind and...well, Staraptor's been keeping his eye on him the entire time, and it didn't seem very likely he'd let him slip out of view.

"Meowth..." Flower made a slightly amused face. "What in the name of Arcues are you--" She was cut abruptly short when she became aware of Delcatty's poison wearing off. The cat shook off the remainder of it, and started getting up. Flower hadn't charged up her attack completely yet...but if she wanted to get a fair shot at the quick-footed feline, she would have to take her chances now.

"Meowth...stand back!" she warned.

Meowth took a couple steps back. "Uhhh...why?" he asked, even though he knew the answer quite well--she didn't want him to get hurt by her Solarbeam. But all the same, his scaredy-cat insticts told him to stay by Flower, his shelter from the big, scary birdie. So he continued to linger close by, staying put in the spot only a step or two away for the sunlight-absorbing ivysaur.

From the front, Delcatty began to leap forward and Staraptor followed up from behind. Meowth made a horrified shriek. Oh, this time...THIS time they were _dead_. He looked over at Flower and played with his fingers nervously. Time appeared to be going at a much slower pace--both Delcatty and Staraptor were almost going in slow motion.

_Oh, please make Solarbeam woik!, _Meowth fumbled. _I'm not ready ta leave da woild! I just can't, I can't! Dere's so many tings in life I haven't gotten ta do yet! _

_**Meowth suddenly had a fantasy of himself standing on a stage in front of millions of people with a mustache under his non-existent nose and holding a microphone up to his mouth. "OK, so why da heck did dat doduo cross da road, anyway?" he asked into the microphone. Everyone in the audience shrugged.**_

"_**Well...I don't know eidda." Meowth admitted. "Ask da doduo." Light shone down on the doduo who suddenly appeared on stage and walked up to Meowth, who put the microphone to its beak (erm, one of its beaks).**_

"So Doduo, care ta tell us why you crossed da road in da foist place?" Meowth interviewed.

"_**Do-duo. Do." the bird replied. "Dooo doduo, do-do." Meowth cracked up. The doduo left stage. Everyone in the audience looked quite confused, and a couple kriketune chirped in the background to prove the point.**_

_**Meowth finally finished laughing. "So, dere ya have it folks! Glad ya liked it! I'll be back next Thursday!" Someone in the audience threw a tomato at Meowth and it landed on his face. A couple other tomatoes then followed. Meowth smiled big and licked some of the excess tomato on his face. "Mmm mmm MMM! I love dis job!" he said in satisfaction, rubbing his stomach.**_

The fantasy faded out, into reality. "Da mustache...da fame...da _tomatoes!_" he cried in agony. "Will I ever rue the day?!" His opponents didn't seem to be listening, and continued their approach. Meowth moaned miserably. He hoped his demise would end quickly--he just wanted to get it over with. The sooner he could deal with the pain, the better. And knowing that he would never be able to fulfill his dream of a stand-up comic didn't make the situation any better.

From next to him, Flower began to sweat from concentration. Though unfinished, she knew she would soon have to release SolarBeam's power if she wanted to at least have a chance of turning the battle around. The budding flower on her back, though, didn't seem to want to open all the way. Just like before when she tried her hand at Poisonpowder, she was struggling to get the gap to expand enough for the best results of her attack. The flower that refused to bloom--it was what she called her "glitch", or problem, as others referred to it. Ever since she was born with the tiny bud on her back, she was never able to open it up fully. Because of this, using the SolarBeam attack was much out of the question--so while other grass-types, and even other species like Houndoom and Snorlax were able to master such a move, Flower was still stuck, almost doomed to never learn.

The ivysaur squeezed her eyes shut. _Come on flower, open up, _she prodded. _Please...just this once! Allow me to use SolarBeam! _She strained harder and harder, trying to open the stubborn flower on her back--she could feel its pressure growing from inside as it struggled to unwrap, almost as if it were stuck together with sticky glue.

Finally, the time came where she just couldn't take it any longer. Their opponents were right about to make their strike when all Flower's focus pretty much disappeared whatsoever, and she collapsed to the ground in defeat. Meowth wore a face of utter shock in response to this--well, it was officially the end of their lives. No questions asked. Staraptor's beak flew down from behind and Delcatty's claws from the front.

Meowth screamed and covered his eyes, waiting for the impact of the attacks. But the pain never came.

For a second, Meowth stopped screaming and peeked from between his fingers. Both Staraptor and Delcatty--for some strange reason--seemed to be paused in the air. Staraptor's beak was open wide and his wings were spread out, but no movement occurred. Not even the feathers ruffled in the wind. Delcatty, also in a frozen position, was in a leaping stance just above both Meowth and Flower. Her mouth too, was open wide--wide enough to see every pointed fang and tooth that reseeded down her gum line. Her claws were so close that it caused Meowth to gasp. He stepped back, out from the opening to his right.

"Wha...what da heck is goin' on?" he stuttered. "Why ain't dey attackin'?" He gasped a second time as he saw both bodies of the flying and normal-type almost dissolve into thin air. Meowth was confused and astounded. He cautiously waved his paw in the exact place where the Delcatty had been just moments before, but was surprised to feel nothing. Nothing but empty space.

"Hoih? Dis ain't makin' any sense!"

Flower stirred from on the ground and groaned a little, her eyes fluttering open. "M-Meowth? Is the battle...over?" She moved her head back and forth, scouting for the attackers but unable to pinpoint their positions.

Meowth shrugged. "I dunno. Dey just disappeared." He watched as Flower got up slowly on wobbly legs. He quickly stood nearby with his arms ready in case she would need any assistance. "Hey, you alright?" he questioned, a hint of worry in his voice. He was automatically relieved when she gave him back that familiar smile.

"Oh...yeah, I'm good." she informed. "Just a little puckered out, I guess. Haven't battled in a quite a while, and it takes some getting used to things...so how about you, you OK?"

Meowth was scratching behind his head. He puzzled a little bit over Flower's situation. He was pretty sure she was charging up for a SolarBeam, but he didn't exactly understand what went wrong. Maybe it was merely a mistake? Meowth shook it off. Whatever it was, it wasn't really his business. She was probably just tired, like she claimed. He was just rejoicing over the fact that his first real battle hadn't been the end of the world like he thought. It wasn't such a big deal after all! Suddenly, he felt a pang of embarrassment for acting so silly on the field.

Meowth made somewhat of a smirk. "Oh..._of course._" he replied to Flower's question. "I am in fact, da Stronger One you speak of. Dis battle was...dis battle wasn't anyting major." He waved his paw. "_Of course _I'm OK."

Flower couldn't help but laugh. "Right...that would explain why you were running around like a maniac and screaming your head off when Staraptor took chase."

"Hey!" Meowth shot back, raising a fist. "I wasn't...um...ready for him yet. He just caught me off guard, dat's all..." He fumbled, looking down at his feet. Flower cocked her head at him and he crossed his arms. "Yeah, so...you know, I'm not...er..._usually_ afraid. Of course not. Most of da time, I'm all muscle. Dose pokemon wouldn't have stood a chance against me, if dey caught me wide-awake and prepared. It's just, dis time around, I was feelin' a little out of place and you know, like you, I haven't battled in a really, really, **really **long time, and--"

"Alright, I get it, I get it..." Flower quickly cut him off, still laughing. "_But_..." she raised her brow, her eyes still scanning the area around her. "What _did _happen to those pokemon anyway?"

"Those weren't pokemon." came a deep voice from behind them, and they both turned to face Calix's tall figure standing above them. Meowth looked in confusion.

"What? What do ya mean?" he asked. "If dey weren't pokemon, what exactly were dey?"

The lucario glanced at first Meowth, then Flower before resting his gaze nowhere in particular. "Holograpams." he answered. The two of them still looked dumbfounded, so he continued. "Computerized battle simulations. It's a program Alakazam and I produced as a training system back when the HQ was first built, but never got to using it much due to most of the pokemon here having retired from training. I myself, have been the only pokemon who actually used it, and still continues to today." he explained. "But now that you two are training for travel in dungeons and encounters with tough opponents, it only made sense to use this method. None of the other pokemon around the HQ and advanced civilization prefer to fight nowadays, so our only other choice would've been to bring you out to a dungeon, but things there can be quite unpredictable and I wanted to have full control over today's exercise."

"Wow..." Flower said slowly, trying to register the information. "So were you and Alakazam the only pokemon who ever knew about this? No one else?"

Calix nodded. "Precisely." he replied. "We weren't sure it would be of any importance because the pokemon who fight nowadays merely get their experience from battles against others, usually in dungeons. But we're coming to think that it might be quite useful after all. We're still debating whether or not we'll open it up to the public."

"Dang...well, y'know, I still have a lot of questions about dis whole battle...thingy." Meowth stated. "I mean, dis whole battle was just against holograms? Den why did it feel so real? Why did it hurt when da pokemon attacked us? Why did da staraptor get mad at me when I called him Big Boid? Dey were talking and interactin' with us like they was real pokemon, just like us!"

"You're right, Meowth." Calix said, taking a deep breath before going into more explanations. "Those battle sims were based off of actual wanted outlaws here. That staraptor and delcatty you were fighting were based completely off the real things--their movesets, personalities, and even their response to stimulus such as feeling your attacks and hearing your insults. They were designed to respond to this by talking or attacking you back. Even their battle strategies are much like their counterparts, at least to the extent of study and personal experience gained on the characters. So..." he punched his fist back into his palm. "Even though you lost, what you basically just fought were actual criminals, in a sense. I really hadn't expected you to do this good, but I must say, kudos."

Meowth and Flower looked at one another in shock. They weren't expecting to be congratulated--in fact, they were expecting quite the opposite. So that whole entire battle was really just a couple of holograms that were based off of _real_ strong pokemon, computerized simulations in which Calix had the power to switch on and off at his will? The whole idea of it sounded crazy! Insane! They just felt too real to be fake--Meowth even remembered getting hurt from the battle...like that injury on his stomach, from Staraptor's peck. Wait, the injury?

Meowth smoothed his paw over his stomach. There was no bruise, no cut, no nothing. Even in the places were he felt pain before didn't even seem to exist. _Shoot, dis whole ting is just untinkable. Who would've even taught of da stuff dese pokemon know how ta do? Dey're geniuses! In my woild, we don't have nothin' like __**dis**__ invented, at least not yet. _He smiled a little at the thought. _Just goes ta show how __much smarter pokemon are den humans, eh?_

"So all in all," Calix concluded, bringing Meowth back to attention. "You two faired pretty well against that team, at least better than I had thought. There's still a lot to work on with both of you though, as I've noticed you're each having trouble on your own things. We'll work on it more later on, but for right now, we'll call it a day. Good job." Without another word, he walked away. Once he was a bit far out of earshot, Flower squealed in excitement.

"Yes! We did it, Meowth!" she said happily. "I can't believe we actually did it! I mean, we didn't win, but Calix was really proud of us! We make a great team, huh?"

Meowth smiled back. "Yeah, we were beatin' da crap out of dem, huh?" he laughed, recalling memories. "And did ya see da way dat Staraptor guy was fumin'? Geesh! Is da real Staraptor really dat easy ta anger?"

"Haha...yeah..." Flower nodded. "I perhaps maybe he is. We'd never know for sure unless we had a real battle with them, I guess."

The thought of fighting real pokemon like that made Meowth shiver. They were scary enough as computer simulations! All of a sudden, whilst pondering this, his stomach gurgled. Flower looked to him and chuckled.

"Me – _oooooowwth..._"

The cat put his paws to his tummy. "...what?" he countered. "Dis battlin' really works up an appetite! I'm **starvin'**!" His speech suddenly sounded a bit whiny. "What do ya say we go back ta dat Cafeteria place and get ourselves some grub?"

Flower's smile widened. "Sounds like a plan! Let's eat!"

...

_Whoa. All I can say is--whoa. This chapter took me forever! Looking back at the last time I updated this thing, it was about two months from now! Geesh! I hadn't even realised how lazy I've gotten in my writing...I mean, I realised I was lazy, just not quite this much! I guess this chapter was a bit hard to get out, since this is in fact...the first "real" battle I've ever written. (besides the little thing in the last chapter, if you count that) I'm not sure if it's good or bad, or whatever. You know, if I had a little too much detail or not enough, and if it was interesting or if it wasn't? I'm really not sure. It would be nice if you could maybe tell me what I could improve in describing my battles, or just my writing? That would help a lot! Also, any reviews at all would help me in knowing what people are still interested in this, if any. I mean, if no one really likes it, I could always put it on hold...but I don't know, you guys tell me what you want. ;) In any case, if anyone's ever noticed, this chapter once again, is longer than the last. I really thought it wouldn't come to that, especially since I thought the last one was so exceedingly long. But...hey, this one's longer! Wow! XD Anyway, be sure to tell me your opinions on whether or not I should continue this or any other thoughts...and well, I'll see ya around, I guess!_


	10. Decisions, Decisions

**Disclaimer: Snow White is not the fairest of them all. I played Go Fish with her yesterday and she _cheated_! :(**

_So uh, hai. Another late update. I'd apologise, only that's been getting old over the last few months. So instead of fretting over it, we'll just go along with it. Oh yeah, and not that it's very important BUT...I've beaten my record of "number of reviews in a single story" as of now! Woo! 52 reviews! Thanks so much guys! :D Now, to surpass the number of chapters...that'd be 15. :P So keep up with the reviews, feedback, criticism, whatevah...and I'll try to update as soon as I can! -cough- (every three weeks...) -hack-...and, well, with that in mind, we'll continue!_

_..._

_Dear Diary,_

_Well, it's been about a day since I first arrived here with my new buds and two days since we've met altogether, though I must admit it feels a lot longer. I guess this must be because so much has happened in that little amount of time, and it's hard to comprehend it all merely onto paper...but I'll do my best._

_So, first off, as their part of the deal, we started up a rescue team. Oddly enough, we were asked to do a mission shortly after to find a kidnapped aron...of course, the mission ended up in success, but sadly I could only say so much for myself. My new partners---Jessie and James, as I've learned to call them---weren't so sharp with their attacks yet. I mean, don't get me wrong, they're perfectly fine, friendly folks...it's just become quite evident that they've got some work to do if they ever want to seek out their friend, or solve any such problems we'll probably have to face. Today I'm bringing them to a dungeon again, only this time I'm going to find us a much easier mission to take care of, if I'm lucky enough to find one on the Bulletin Board---yes, that old thing is still standing, only for how long, I am unsure. _

_Right now, the two of them are inside, probably messing around with their new bandannas. They came in the mail today, we well as the new team badge and other assortments of "starting items"...I mean, I was pretty sure I told those pelipper that I already acquired a-many good items, but I guess they insisted on it...anyway as soon as my friends were informed of this, they grabbed everything in that mailbox and darted back inside without a thought to spare. I think the two of them are getting along quite well in there, perhaps splitting and sharing the items in a well-orderly fashion. _(screaming, yelling, and "breaking" of objects is then heard from inside Cliff's house; Cliff sweatdrops)

_Um, OK. Perhaps maybe not as well as I had presumed. I guess I'll just have to wrap it up now, before their bickering gives me another headache. So, with that in mind, I'm just going to finish this up quickly before – _

"AAAAAHHHH! Get away from me!" screamed a familiar figure as he zoomed out of the house, waving his arms in the air with a rawst berry clamped in one paw. Cliff sighed.

_Too late, _he thought to himself, putting away his diary with the unfinished entry, shoving it into a safe pocket in the toolbox in front of him so as no unwanted eyes would spot it. As soon as he did this, he became aware of someone grabbing onto him from behind, using him as a shelter. Another figure emerged, running straight toward them with her own pawful of fruit.

"You threw a berry at me, James!" she cried, yelling in the direction of Cliff, only aimed toward the unfortunate soul behind him. "I can't let you get away with that!"

"But it missed!" whined the shinx, ducking lower. "And besides, you threw a million berries at me---I'm all juicy and sticky, thanks to you! This'll never come out, not even with Bleach, and I can't even change clothes to cover it up!"

Cliff chuckled uncertainly. "Um, OK guys, why don't we just get along and forget all about---"

"Who the heck cares?!" growled the poochyena, almost ignoring or unable to hear the quilava at all. "Fire Weasel can always buy you a new bandanna, and even if he can't, you can just go around naked for crying out loud!"

James gasped, jumping out from behind Cliff. "Naked? No way, that's nasty!" he shouted. "I would never in the right mind do something so horrifying!"

Jessie rolled her eyes. "James, you don't even have a right mind..." She got back to growling. "Plus, unless you were able to notice, we've been naked all the way up until now, and even with that bandanna on, you still won't ever be **wearing any pants**!" With her target in view, she seized the opportunity to launch a cheri berry into his path. Surprisingly, with much clumsiness, he was able to avoid it without having himself fall on his bum in the process. After regaining footing, he smirked and stuck his tongue out at Jessie.

"Nyah nyah! Missed me!" he teased – only to be then struck with another cheri berry to the forehead. The impact caused him to cry in shock and he collapsed to the ground. Jessie then laughed victoriously, squinting her eyes shut as she pointed at the stricken electric-type. James scowled from his position, but quickly sensed the chance for revenge. His rawst berry was instantly chucked in Jessie's direction, manging to make quite an impressive hit as the remains splattered all over her muzzle and blue juice proceeded to drip off the tip of her nose.

"Ugh! Howdare you!" she scoffed. She brought another berry, an aspear, from behind her back, ready to use her weapon as her offense. However, she was stopped by Cliff before this could happen as he gently grabbed at her firing arm in attempts to calm the feud.

"Guys, guys, would you **please **just settle down?" he pleaded. "Fighting isn't going to resolve anything, unless it's a fair, well-played battle. Throwing food is simply unnecessary, especially since we could be using them while in dungeons instead of wasting them on our fellow team members." He looked Jessie in the eye and she returned the favour. "Alright Jessie, I'm gonna let go of your arm now and when I do, I expect you two to start behaving a little better, got that?"

"Whatever..." she mumbled inaudibly, rolling her eyes. Cliff slowly disbanded from his hold and backed away. It was silent and awkward for a few seconds while everyone just stood there before Jessie suddenly spun around and shot her aspear berry out at James in a surprise attack. He yelped in response, clutching onto his injured optical.

"My eye! MY EYEEEE!" he screamed, falling backwards. Cliff gave Jessie a quizzical look and she shrugged her shoulders, almost innocently.

"Whaaaat? Weren't quite _expecting _that?"

Cliff sweatdropped. "Right..." There was no dealing with these two. As he watched James get up, rubbing his eye, he realised both he and Jessie were both wearing their new bandannas. Only, they seemed to have done something more to them. "What's up with your bandannas?" he didn't stop to ask. "Didn't we order white?" Both of them looked down for a second.

"Oh, yeah. Well, they _were_." Jessie replied.

"They were really boring." James added with a nod, seeming to forget about his sore eye. "Good thing I always carried around those stickers – knew they'd come in handy sometime!"

"Ah, so those are stickers?" Cliff inquired, scratching his head as he observed. "What kind of stickers are those? I mean, a bunch of red-coloured R's? What's that supposed to symbolise?"

"Team Rocket." James beamed proudly.

"No duh." commented Jessie.

"Oh, well...I mean...I guess it's creative." Cliff managed to get out, unsure of what to think. "Sort of..."

"Are you implying that maybe our works aren't _good enough _for you, hmmm?" Jessie quired with a hint of distaste, putting her face up to Cliff's and causing him to back down a little due to need of personal space.

"Ah, no, not anything like THAT!" Cliff assured, putting up his paws to force the poochyena out of his face in a defensive, but respective manner. "I think it's quite nice. It's kind of like a trademarked logo or something, so I guess it would be good in making us a little more well-known...you know, as our new rescue team, not just me as an individual, you see. Heheheh..." He noticed himself fumbling a bit and stood up tall once more. "Anyway, where's my team bandanna? Decorated much like yours, I presume?"

"Yup." James replied, nodding again. He reached into the mysterious flab of skin and into the imaginary pocket to pull out another white, R-stickered article of clothing similar to his and Jessie's.

"For crying out the window, would you stop doing that?" Jessie asked, almost more of a demand than a question. "The way you just reach in there and pull crap out is just insane – insanely gross!"

James made a weird look. "But I don't have pants! You said so yourself!"

"...that doesn't mean you should improvise..."

"Why not? It's a lot easier than just carrying everything around like a pack mule!" The two of them were face to face in an instant and Cliff had to, once again, pull away the fight, splitting through the middle and separating them before anyone got seriously hurt.

"Alright guys...haven't we fought enough this morning?" he asked, almost humorously. He noticed both of their stares were locked onto one another until he spoke, where they then glanced up at him slowly while still keeping the other in the corner of their eye. When neither of them answered, he gave a stiff sigh and continued.

"Look, save the fighting for on the field." he advised. "If we ever want to make all of this work out, we're gonna have to actually _work_ for it. That means we're going to have to start acting like a team, instead of bickering like siblings. Remember, the longer it takes for us to get through this, the longer it's going to take you to find your friend and get out of this place. That's what you want, right?" He paused to watch Jessie and James roll their eyes, almost like teenagers when forced to listen to their mother. He smirked and picked up his rescue team kit. "Now come on, you two. We mustn't mope around – there's work to be done. A _lot _of work."

Both dark and electric type grumbled softly, knowing that they had to do what were told if they were to ever get back home and return to their missed bodies during their lifetime. All this, just to simply fix the mess they had gotten themselves into, and get back to the everyday Pikachu-stalking lives they were used to.

What felt like perhaps weeks spent, was only just the beginning.

...

"Yo, Cliff! What's happenin'?"

"Nice new look for you, Cliff. You guys make those bandannas?"

"Did you really fight Team Brutal yesterday, Cliff?"

"Ooh! Cliff! Cliff! Can I have your autograph..._**please**_?!"

A swarm of pokemon huddled around Cliff and his team, making a daily walk to the Bulletin Board outside Pelipper Post Office no easy matter. _Seems I've been quite missed over the last year, _the quilava noted, grabbing for a job offer on the board. He was soon interrupted as Lombre jumped up in front.

"Man, that's soooo wicked! Sick, dude!" he practically screamed. "I mean, Team Brutal? Dang, man! Totally, dang!"

"Eh, Lombre, would you mind stepping down a bit?" Cliff asked politely. Lombre obeyed almost automatically, as if a measly disagreement with such an idol would be a serious crime. Unfortunately, as Cliff's paw went up again, he was met by the faces of a bouncing Weepinbell and a grinning Granbull.

"Team Brutal...we heard! Amazing stuff!" chirped the hyper plant-like pokemon.

"Yeah, that's quite impressive!" added Granbull. "But then again, we must remind ourselves, we _are_ dealing with Cliff here."

Cliff laughed nervously. "Uh, thanks guys. Really." he said, pushing them softly aside. "But right now we've gotta take another rescue. The pokemon in danger has slowed a year ago when the natural disasters disappeared, but lately, the offers are on the rise again. We have to be quick on our feet and get going, so if you'll excuse us -"

"Hi Cliff!" squeaked a small, young voice. Cliff looked down to see the aron from yesterday, looking happier than ever. "Thanks so much for rescuing me yesterday!" She looked over and spotted Jessie and James. "Oh! You're the funny guy who was covered in slime, and the girl who got trapped in ice, otherwise known as The Sliminator and Frozen Popsicle! Hi!" She waved a tiny paw. The two of them sweatdropped.

"So, maybe we **are** starting to get noticed..." Jessie mumbled sarcastically.

"Yeah," agreed James. "But you have to give credit to those nicknames. They're pretty neat." Jessie was about to whack him upside the head but thought better of it while the kid was still watching them. Instead, she offered a fake smile.

"Well, of course...you have quite the talent for that, now don't you?" she responded sweetly through her teeth.

The aron grinned largely. "Maybe!" she responded.

"Patch," came the deep voice of an aggron who suddenly appeared next to the small aron, who looked up instantly when he spoke. "Get out of that crowd young lady, before you get yourself trampled."

"Daddy!" she squealed, nuzzling her face to his steel-iron body. She then stopped and smiled up at him. "These are the nice people that rescued me yesterday!" she informed, gesturing toward the three. "Cliff is tough! And his friends are really funny!"

The aggron returned the smile, but kept a strict tone. "Yes, I'm glad they came to rescue you. Now, don't go wandering too far away from Daddy from now on. We don't want anything like that to happen again, alright?"

The aron nodded. "Okey." she replied. She began to leave with her father, who suddenly paused and turned around.

"Oh, and...Clifton." he said. The quilava took a couple steps forward.

"Yes?"

"I'm afraid I haven't been able to thank you properly for rescuing my dear Patch last night...it was truly remarkable of you. Her very life could have been in danger..." he cleared his throat. "Anyway, I'm sorry if my behaviour before was a bit out of hand, but it was pretty urgent, and I thank you for taking on the job and bringing my daughter back to me."

Cliff put his paw behind his head. "Heh...no problem. That's what rescue teams do, right?"

Aggron held out his paw to the fire-type, revealing a bag of coins. "I'd like you to take this as a token of our gratitude." he offered hastily. Cliff chuckled and waved it off.

"No, it's OK, I don't need -"

"**Please**, take it." Aggron pleaded, pushing it to the quilava's chest. "It's only acceptable that I should pay you back for such a marvelous deed." Cliff hesitantly picked up the bag from the steel-type's grasp and nodded.

"Thank you." he said modestly.

"No, thank _you_." the aggron replied. He looked down at his daughter, who was busy laughing as she tossed a stone around with both paws. "OK, Patch, how about we go to Uproar Forest and collect some chestnuts for lunch?"

The aron almost jumped for joy. "Yay!" She and the aggron both went off in their own direction, leaving Cliff's team and the remainder of the crowd.

"Wow, that little aron is so adorable!" piped Kangaskhan.

"Friend! Friendly friends!" Wigglytuff agreed in a sing-song voice as he danced in circles, wiggling his arms in the air. "La! Lala! Lalala! La dee dah! Do dee lah! Wheeeeeeeee!" He began to spin around in circles with a large apple on his head, between his rabbit-like ears.

Jessie's eyes widened as she watched the singing pink pokemon. "Wow, that dude is even creepier than you, James." she whispered in shock.

"Yeah," he whispered back. "That guy is _waaaay _scarier than – hey, wait a minute!" Cliff cleared his throat at an exceptionally loud tone, as if to signal to everybody that he was now ready to get back on track.

"Alright guys...performance is over." he informed the group of pokemon huddled around. "We've got what we've come for here, so we're to be on our way. Please, spare us a little space." The pokemon around him groaned and sighed, but did as directed. They all moved away at a small distance, still watching him as he and his newly formed rescue team weaved their way through the narrow opening in the crowd. As they left the Square, the pokemon cheered and hollered.

"Best of luck, Cliff!"

"Get 'er done!"

"Make us all proud!"

"Come back soon! **Really **soon!"

Jessie rolled her eyes as the yells of encouragement began to slowly fade. "Psychotic townsfolk." she mumbled mostly to herself. James sweatdropped from beside her from the remark, however, Cliff just scrolled his eyes down the slip of paper he was holding as he they walked away. Town Square almost completely disappeared from view as they took to a bright path ahead of them, and Jessie took notice to the quilava, knowing only too well that he was planning in his mind the next arduous mission filled with ultra strong pokemon to beat the crap out of them. She gave a bored yawn.

"So...what stupid job are you forcing us to do _today_?" she asked in a casual but slightly irritated voice.

Cliff almost completely ignored her annoyed attitude and gave a calm answer to the question. "Well, I managed to pick out a relatively easy job for you. It's right down at Beach Cave – the closest dungeon from town – and, like Tiny Woods, it promises weaker inhabitants, so in the case that you'd ever have to fight any of them, you should be able to pull it off with your amateur level skills."

Jessie's eyes flared up. "**Amateur?!**" she fumed. "And just what exactly are you implying by that?!" Cliff put his paws up in a defensive stance.

"Hold it...I didn't mean to put it that way." he defended. "I never mentioned you were weak, but it _is_ true that you've only just become pokemon, so I trust you're quite new to the experience of actually _battling_ as an actual pokemon. Plus, after seeing your struggle yesterday, it's proved to me that you need a lot to learn, and the only way to start that is to practice in places where you are capable of taking on missions. I can't do all the battling for you, and it's time you two started to become more familiar with your _own _moves, so in case of an emergency-"

"Oh, come onnn_..._" Jessie cut in. "This is ridiculous! We shouldn't have to do something like...like THIS."

"I agree with Jessie." James spoke up quickly. The two of them both looked at him, almost forgetting he was even there. "I mean...well..." he continued, tracing a paw in the sand. "Don't you think we might not be...erm..._strong _enough, to, you know...go into a cave with...pokemon...? Couldn't we just...uh...practice our, um, moves on a tree? A boulder, perhaps? Or, maybe...maybe a-"

**WHUMP!**

"Ow! What was that for...?" James demanded, picking himself up after having been pounded in the head with a certain dark-type's fist.

"For being an idiot." the poochyena responded, watching him whimper as he rubbed his sore noggin. "Be glad I only did it to you once. I went easy on you back at the Square, but don't think that's going to give you any more reason to-"

"What? Speak my opinion?!"

"Opinion?" she repeated, with a smirk. "What kind of messed up opinion is THAT?"

"Mine!" James retorted. "Not that _yours_ would be any better, because you're just...just bossy and greedy and...and selfish, and, and, and-"

"Guys! GUYS! Really!" Cliff interrupted desperately. "How many times have I told you guys to buck up and just be nice to one another?! If you're ever going to be a successful team, you've gotta learn to get along with your teammates...shouldn't that be obvious? You'll never get anything done unless you do! Geezzz..." He gave out an exhausted sigh, then before anyone else could reply – or continue arguing for that matter – he went on, bringing the subject back at hand. "Anyway...the beach is right down this path. We're not too far – come on, let's get moving." He gestured them walk and they did, both looking very unmotivated and unwilling to do the task they were being assigned.

_Cliff said we're going somewhere like that Tiny Woods place, _James thought through his throbbing head as they walked. _Wasn't that the place where the pidgey attacked us before? We were hardly a match for them! If these are the weakest they've got, I'd hate to see their strongest! _As he fretted worriedly, the poochyena beside him muttered unhappily, also seemingly upset over the ideal. He wondered if she could maybe be just as scared as he was. After all, she got pretty beaten up too, the other day.

He shook his head at the silly thought. _Nah, not Jessie, _he assured himself. _She's too strong to let herself get knocked out **that** easily. She's more than a match for any pokemon that dares to pick on her. Unlike me..._ He shook his head again. _That's it...I gotta stop being such a wimp. I'm Team Rocket, aren't I? I can do this. Piece of cake! Ahahaha..._

He sweatdropped as the cave appeared in front of him, suddenly not feeling so convinced after all. Cliff took this time to stop and look again at the paper in his hands, then up at the cave.

"Well, this is it." he informed. "Beach Cave. Really, quite astounding you know. No one knew about this cave for a long while, because it was hidden completely from view. Pokemon would pass by with no inkling of its existence at all. However," he continued to explain. "As I've heard it, Beach Cave was first found by a rescue team of three rhyhorn who came to train at the beach early one morning. They were tackling and charging at each other when one's horns missed their aim and instead, drilled through this large rock. It created an opening, and inside, was a dungeon. The discovery of Beach Cave lead to an enormous amount of other dungeon discoveries in its time, so there's been a lot more places to explore since I've first joined a rescue team." He smiled at the memory. "But nature, it still awes me – there's always so many mysteries in this world...some of them get solved at some point in time, some don't. Just imagine how many dungeons there still are, undiscovered. It's really amazing stuff." Both newly recruited partners of Cliff's team were staring at him without any much more of a response. He scratched his neck.

"Er...sorry if I went on rambling a bit. Its history is intriguing to me, that's all." He shrugged. Still not getting any response, he again took to the paper in his paws. "So...um...I wonder where our client could be? He told us to meet us here at the entrance of the cave."

Jessie looked left, then right in a quick gesture and, seeing nothing, quickly went for the chance. "Well, no one's here. Guess we can't do the mission, then." she said, trying to sound disappointed, but the eagerness in her tone was not easily covered up.

"Uh-_huh_." Cliff responded, making it evident that he was aware of the false enthusiasm. He hadn't been with the two of them long, but he had been with them long enough to know that they still hadn't fully accepted the idea of being a rescue team. He almost regretted making the deal with them in the first place, but he also knew that if they ever wanted to find their friend, they would have to train well – and being on a rescue team would certainly help them out a lot on that. No point in turning back now. Instead he gave a taunting smirk.

"You know, there's this little thing called 'patience'." he replied, still looking smug. "If you two decide you don't want to wait around for this mission, I can always find you a harder one..."

James immediately realised what he was indicating. "Oh, no, _no – _we can wait...no problem, no problem at all!" he persisted, sweatdropping.

Cliff nodded triumphantly. "Good. I'm glad we've come to an agreement on this." The trio was silent for a short moment, before the fire-type thought of something else to bring up while he still had the opportunity to speak. "Hey, you guys have the new Team Badge on you?"

"...team _what_?" quired James, clearly puzzled.

"Um, you know..." Cliff trailed, trying to put a small explanation into words. "That...shiny orb thing that glows when you touch it and has wings sticking out from both sides?" He instantly realised what he said sounded vague and a bit stupid, but the shinx managed to know exactly what he was talking about.

"Oh, **that**?" he asked, to be sure, but didn't wait for an answer. "Yeah, I have it! It's right -" He began reaching his paw down to his hindquarters where his valuables were usually stashed into the imaginary pocket, but he looked up to see Jessie giving him a weird glare and he opted not to. "Uh..." he continued, still looking at Cliff as he pulled his paw back up and shrugged. "Yeah."

"It came with all that other junk in the mail." Jessie added, now facing Cliff. "What's it supposed to do, anyway? Knock out foes or something?" Suddenly, the idea of beating up other pokemon began to appeal to her and she grinned, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "Hmmm...sounds like fun."

"Oh Arcues, no, that's not what it's for!" laughed Cliff, much to the poochyena's disappointment. "There are already other items to take care of that job, such as gravelerocks. Now, the Rescue Team Badge," he continued. "is an essential item for any rescue team as it comes in good use for missions. You know how we had to walk all the way to Apple Woods yesterday for that mission and back?"

"...don't remind me." Jessie murmured. She did not intend on remembering the embarrassing epic failure she had to go through with that Team Brutal – even though Cliff had managed to defeat them on his own, she and James still took quite a beating and must've looked totally pathetic and wimpy at the time. And that _glaceon_...Jessie tried not to growl. If she ever got her paws on that ice-type again, she swore she'd –

"Well then," Cliff went on, keeping the conversation going. "The reason we had to do that was because we didn't have a Rescue Team Badge...see, I had thrown the old one out after I decided I no longer wanted to participate in rescues and disbanded from rescue activity altogether, but now that we rejoined up, we've got it again, and I can explain to you its extraordinary uses." He paused and then explained further. "What a Rescue Team Badge does, is automatically teleport a team back to their Rescue Team Base...in fact, it's programmed to do the very thing. So whenever you complete a mission, you can simply hold out the badge and all team members nearby will automatically be swept into the light and returned back to base, thus saving a lot of time and effort, especially for dungeons that may be further away. A very convenient tool, that it is."

James's green eyes glittered in amazement. "Whoooooaaaaaa...for real?"

"For fakes." Cliff answered, though he wasn't sure why.

James cocked his head. "Huh?" he wondered aloud. "But you said -"

"Ah, nevermind." Cliff replied, sweatdropping as he scratched the back of his head. He hadn't expected **that **kind of a reaction. "...yes, _for real_, it really does teleport you." he cleared up, trying to fix the confusion. "It's a very handy tool. Don't lose it – the first one is free of course, but in the case that it _does _go missing, we'd have to pay for a new one, and...well, let's just say they don't sell very cheap...it's just...you know, better to keep good track of the one we have."

"Oh." was the only reply he got from the electric-type, who must've felt a bit dumb at his childish questioning of a joke.

"Well then," Cliff said in response. "I guess that clears up most of what we needed to know, eh? Unless of course...you have any questions regarding dungeons, or any other things in particular?" James thought nervously for a moment then raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Um, well..." he started, not quite sure how to put it into words without sounding unprofessional – which in their case, was a pretty hard thing to do, "About those...moves, we were speaking about. How do we...you know, use them?"

Jessie slapped her forehead. Could that have come out any worse? What little they had left of a reputation with Cliff seemed to have totally vanished at that point.

Cliff continued to scratch his head. It was true they really didn't know how to fight – but where was he supposed to start? He tried to think back from the days when he himself first started training. "Why," he began slowly. "Most of the moves you learn you learn on your own through your own experience, after you kind of get the hang of doing all that...uhh, fighting. Many pokemon only know one or two powers before training so...hmmm...to start? I guess I'd advise probably starting out with basic moves, that way, when we can start focusing on tougher places, even _more_ powerful moves are gained. Heck, before you know it -"

"**CLIFF!**" screamed a nearby voice. All three immediately turned around to see...what do you know, Lombre again...stopping to pant and clutch at his chest in attempts to regain his breath.

"Urm..." Cliff muttered, a little taken-aback at his sudden appearance. "What's wrong, Lombre?" The water/leaf type took a couple seconds to take in oxygen before speaking again.

"I'm...huff-huff...I'm sorry to interrupt, but...pant...there's a pokemon who wants to see you." he spoke between breaths. "They...pant...insisted on your rescue, Cliff...huff...and...and...pant...I think you're the only one...the only one around who can...who can...pant...help them. Wicked tough...wicked tough dungeon, you see...pant...your help is greatly needed."

Cliff raised his brow. "The only one strong enough, you say?" he repeated. "Where have all the other tough rescue teams gone? I'm sure there must be a couple still operating around these parts. What about the legendary Team ACT? Or, even that newer team that reached Lucario Rank...I heard they could've been even stronger than -"

Lombre sadly shook his leaf-topped head. "No." he replied depressingly, having re-caught his breath completely. "Most of them are no longer around here, so a lot of the pokemon trapped in higher-level dungeons have had to ask teams great distances away from the Square. It's been sad, because a lot of pokemon have to send SOS Mail that may take days, even weeks, to reach the hands of a strong and willing rescue team miles and miles away. But..." he looked up, his eyes filled with hope. "Now that you're here, Cliff, you can help those poor pokemon. They have someone to turn to now that you're here, Cliff. They need you now more than ever."

Cliff let himself look back at his teammates, at Lombre, at his teammates and back to Lombre again. He let his gaze up to the sky and finally sighed. "Alright, I'll take the job." he offered. Jessie and James nearly jumped out of their skins in surprise to his reaction.

"**WHAAAAAT?!**"

"Tell them," the fire-type continued, seeming to ignore the outburst altogether. "That I'll be there ASAP. I just need to get a couple things together first before I go." The Lombre smiled ear-to-ear.

"Yes! Bless you Cliff...bless you!" He scrambled, getting onto his feet. "I'll let them know straightaway you'll be coming!" With those final parting words, he skedaddled, not giving anybody else a chance to say a word in the matter. With him gone, Jessie and James gave Cliff looks mixed with confusion, upset and, on Jessie's side, a bit of anger.

"What the heck was up with _that_?!" she shouted without hesitation. "Up to now, you had me thinking we were going to do some easy cheesy mission so you could get us to grow stronger and...this comes up? You can't just decide last-minute to bring us to another insanely tough place where we'll get the pulp beaten out of us! That's just MAD!" Cliff stepped back a little.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa...cool it, you guys are gonna be fine. I wouldn't put you in danger worse than what you've experienced yesterday – that would be just cruel." he informed soberly.

"Hmmm?" Jessie questioned in an irritated voice. "Then what's gonna become of us, then? We just gonna tag along on your pretty little rescue like a bunch of nobodies who don't have anything better to do with their lives? How are we supposed to get this so-called training in _then_, could you tell us THAT?"

"Easy." he replied, still sounding quite calm. "Because you're staying here." Jessie and James jumped again.

"**WHAAAAAT?!**"

"Staying here?" questioned James. "Why? What do we do?"

Cliff gave them another smile as he opened his toolbox and placed a couple different berries and seeds onto the ground in front of their feet. "Isn't it obvious?" he replied, as they looked down at the stash. "We've been talking about it for the last fifteen minutes or so. You two are doing the Beach Cave mission from this bulletin." He waved the slip of paper in the air to remind them of where it was and then placed it gently amongst the other items in the small pile.

"What, you mean without you?" asked Jessie.

"Precisely." the fire-type replied. "You guys don't really need my help, do you? I mean, you're not my kids. You seem capable of handling your own responsibilities without me haggling you anyway. Besides, if you learn on your own, you'll get stronger. It shouldn't be too tough." He packed up his suitcase and then pointed to the pile he placed in front of them. "I provided you with a couple essentials like berries and apples in case you need them. Other than that, I think you won't really need much else. Just accomplish the deed and then use the Rescue Team Badge to get back home. Seems simple enough?"

"Well...well..." James stammered, not very intent on his leaving. "What will you do without a...a team badge thing? Don't you need it more than we do?"

Cliff laughed in response. "Eh...I'll survive." he chuckled. "These legs have carried me farther distances than you could imagine back in the days. I might be a little late coming back, but that shouldn't be a problem...I just want you two to have something in case you ever get too lost or anything." He picked up his suitcase and stood up fully. "I'd like to stay and chat, but I've gotta get going now. We can meet up after we're both done and have dinner at my place." He began to leave again.

"Urm...but..." James said, grabbing onto the quilava's leg to stop him. "What about those moves? You told us we should start out with basic moves...what kind of basic moves do you want us to do? I don't even think I know how to use _anything_!"

Cliff looked down at the two. "Well, both of your species learn similar basic moves, so in the case you ever get stuck, you can help one another out. My advice – start out with a tackle, and take it from there. You'd be surprised how everything else will follow up behind as you go." This time as the fire-type left, he went with no interruptions.

James sweatdropped, not really getting it. "Okaaaayyy..."

"My advice – start out with a tackle, and take it from there..." Jessie repeated in a mocking voice a moment after the quilava had disappeared. "Oh, come on! Who does he think we are, anyway? Kindergarteners?"

"Well...we kind of are." James admitted, quickly regretting what he said. "...I don't mean that in a bad way, really!" he quickly added, regaining himself. "But seriously, he expects us to actually battle and stuff as if we were real pokemon or something. How are we supposed to do that? He says to tackle, but I don't wanna tackle! I'll get hurt!"

"Uhh...unless you haven't noticed," Jessie countered. "We _are _real pokemon, and it's been that way for the long few days that we've been here..." she rolled her eyes. "Besides, you're the one who was so excited about this in the first place, am I right?"

"Yeah..." he said slowly. "I admit it was cool at first...that is, until I was almost digested by that swalot."

It was Jessie's turn to sweatdrop. "You were almost digested by the weepinbell too."

"That's **different**! I'm used to that!"

"Haha..._right_." the poochyena said with a smirk. "So anyway," she spoke up, changing the subject. "We better gather up all this crap Fire Weasel left us and go." She grabbed an apple in her teeth and began to leave as well. James was surprised – not only because she was acting more like a pokemon without even noticing, but also because of the fact that she appeared to be heading in the wrong direction.

"Er, Jessie," he started. "Isn't Beach Cave -"

Jessie placed the apple down to speak. "Over there?" she signaled, gesturing her head to the cave in the opposite direction. "According to what we've been told, yes, it is." James looked even more confused.

"Then...why are you -"

"Going this way?" Jessie again completed, almost as if knowing exactly what he would ask. "Because," she continued with the answer. "The weasel isn't around, right? Who cares if he asked us to do a mission? Now that he's gone...heck, we can do whatever we want. We can ditch this place. Just because _he _likes to go on stupid missions doesn't mean we have to. I mean, we have the right to refuse so...why not just don't and say we did?!"

James thought it over for a moment. "Hmmm...yeah, you have a point." he remarked. "But then again...what if he figures out that we haven't been doing what he asked? Won't he know?"

Jessie shrugged. "Dunno. What if he does? Is that a problem?"

"Uhhhh...he's kind of...strong..."

Jessie looked unsure for a split second but then came up with another solution. "Eh, no big deal. We can always make up an excuse. Like...the cave was closed due to remodeling. Or that the client person never showed up. Or of course, the classic _my shinx ate the bulletin _cover-up."

"Hey! I never said I'd approve of doing such a thing!" he scoffed. "Why can't you eat it?!"

"Whatever...sheesh, I was just joking." Jessie said with a paw to her forehead. "Even so, it'd just be an excuse either way. No matter which kind we use, the weasel's so goody-goody he'd probably forgive us anyway. So..." She turned around, ready to leave. "You coming or not?"

James bit his lip. He knew Cliff wouldn't be too happy if he figured out they'd just ditched the job and went off to do whatever they wanted. But then, he also knew that he didn't want to go into a dungeon in the first place, especially not alone...besides, over the years, he had come to learn one major fact that proved true – and that was that it was impossible to say no to Jessie.

"Um...OK." he finally decided. "Just...wait one moment." There were a couple shuffling noises from behind the poochyena and she checked back in curiosity to see what he was doing. Turned out he was trying to stuff the remainder of items on the ground into his pocket whilst trying to balance on three legs. She sweatdropped. _Guess if we don't want to lug around some old toolbox, I'm gonna have to get used to this..., _she thought disapprovingly.

She continued to stand there, watching and waiting for her partner to finish up. Unfortunately, the hoarding task proved difficult for the electric-type and every time he managed to cram something in, something else fell out. He muttered to himself each time he picked up a falling apple or oran berry in which he then tried to hurriedly store into the mysterious compartment. Jessie become almost impatient enough to get in there and grab some herself so they could finally go on their way – however, before this could happen, someone approached from seemingly out of nowhere, jolting them both up and back into reality.

"Hey! Hey! You guys are a Rescue Team right?" quired a young wynaut in a squeaky, high-pitched voice, cutting right in between the two of them. James, who had been unaware of the approach, let out a short cry of surprise and jumped to his feet, causing a number of fruits and other items to spill to the ground.

"Well...what's it look like to you?" Jessie asked the blue-coloured pokemon in a disturbed voice. The wynaut turn to her with an odd expression and she instantly realised it was still only a child. "Oh! I mean...yeah, sure, we're a Rescue Team and...all of that jazz..." she mumbled, not very enthusiastically. The young psychic type smiled.

"Oh, hurray! Hurray!" he chirped. "I thought no one was going to come! Sorry I wasn't around, I mean...I was getting a little lonely waiting around so I went wandering. Then I was told someone picked up my job offer, so I came here! I hoped you hadn't left yet and now I'm here, and I see that you haven't, so I'm happy! Happy happy happy!"

James grabbed at his fluttering heart, apparently still not yet fully restored from the scare. "So...you were the one who put up this bulletin?" he asked, scooping the paper up with his nose and thrusting it in the pokemon's direction. The kid took one look of it and, when recognising it immediately, looked up and smiled.

"Yup! That was me!" he squeaked excitedly. He bounced up and down. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy! I am soooo happy! You two came to help me...now I can get it back! My Smiley Charm!"

"Whoa, hold on there, kiddo..." Jessie barged in, not quite understanding. "...the _what_ charm?"

"Smiley Charm." the child repeated. "It is a special item that was made for us wynaut, and it helps boost our defense...it's also really rare!" He then frowned, looking a lot sadder. "But my Smiley Charm...it was very, very special to me. My granddaddy gave it to me and it's my...my personal treasure. I don't know what I would ever do..." Tears started to well up in the youngster's eyes. "...if...if it got lost forever...and I was never able to find it...again..." he sniffed. He began to tremble and sob quietly.

"How...did you lose it?" James asked in a bit of a worried tone.

The wynaut sniffled loudly. "Well," he explained in a shaky voice. "I was just...just going into the cave because I was...curious to see what was inside, was all. And then...and then this big scary pokemon...it came and attacked me!" he cried. "I did not know what to do so...so I tried to protect myself...I thought my Smiley Charm would help, but the mean pokemon snatched it up..." A single tear slid down his cheek. "And us wynaut...we can't really use attack powers...so I couldn't...I couldn't fight them back even if I wanted to...oh, please," he pleaded. "Please, can you help me get it back?"

James glanced down at the bulletin and then up at the wynaut, an unusually wide grin forming on his face all the while. "Now don't you worry, my boy," he said in a deep, heroic voice whilst patting the psychic-type on the head. "We of Team Rocket shall get back your charmy treasurey thing, even if it takes us to the ends of the universe across, deserts, forests, and sea to shining shimmering sea, or my name isn't – Ow!"

Before James could finish his triumphant speech, he was suddenly pulled aside by the ear and away from the upset child. The wynaut stopped crying for a second and cocked his head in confusion, wondering what was going on.

"Jessie, what the heck are you -" James started as they turned fully around.

"Shhh!" Jessie instructing, clamping a paw over his muzzle. "Now..." she began in a low voice. "A better question I would like to ask, is what they heck are _you _doing? Unless I'm mistaken, we were going to ditch this mission, were we not?" She removed her hold on his mouth and he exhaled sharply before speaking.

"I know, we were," he replied in a whisper. "But we can't just let that kid down! I mean, look at him..." He peered behind his shoulder. "The little guy's helpless. We can't just leave him there...I mean, I know we're from a criminal organisation and all, but it is true that we _are _rescuers now – sort of – and...I don't know, you'd have to be pretty much heartless not to help in this kind of situation..."

Jessie sighed lowly in response. "Well, what do you suppose we do then?" she asked. "We don't even know what we're doing, to put it bluntly. We'd get the kid's hopes down if we tried and then utterly failed. And...well, face it...we _always _fail."

"You're right. But this time..." James cleared his throat and spoke in his extra-deep voice again and stood up with his fist raised. "We're fighting on the side of justice!" The wynaut heard the shinx proclaim this before being pushed back down to the ground, causing the psychic type to cock his head the opposite way, still puzzled to what was going on.

"Oh, for heaven's sake, stop talking superhero like that!" Jessie whispered sternly, sweatdropping. "Wasn't the Moltres scenario enough?"

"Uhhhh..."

"Forget I asked." Jessie responded, scratching her head. "Anyway..." she paused for a second. James was...somewhat...right. It would be pretty heartless just to leave the kid there and though she hated to admit, she felt a bit sorry for him too. Plus, if they left, there could always be the chance that the wynaut would follow them wherever they went and heckle them on and on until they did the mission. Cliff wouldn't be too happy about it, and would probably force them into it at some point or another. Yup...they were already in this mess, so they might as well make the best out of it.

"Alright." she said in her regular voice, looking at her partner and forming an all-too-familiar smirk on her face. "If you..._insist_ on doing this mission...we better just get our butts into it and get this thing over with once and for all."

James smiled inwardly to himself, knowing that she was, however reluctantly, in agreement. Both broke out of their inward conversation to face the wynaut, who could just sit there and stare in wonderment.

"OK," she said, looking down at the wynaut. "My friend and I here have come upon our little decision. We'll go with you and help get you your little...charm bracelet thing."

The wynaut smiled. "Smiley Charm." he corrected.

"Yeah...that."

"Oh, thank you! Thank you thank you thank you!" the wynaut shouted in glee. "You don't know how happy this makes me! You two are wonderful! Thank you!"

"Heh...no problem...uh, Kid. Just don't slow us down too much." Jessie responded.

The wynaut grinned once more. "Edwyn. You can call me Edwyn."

...

_Darnit. I was really intending on having the dungeon in this chapter. Unfortunately, nothing seems to go the way I want it, so...longer we must wait. X3 Oh, and by the way, the "Smiley Charm" is a real item off PMD2. I did a bit of research during my free time, yes indeedy I did. Be proud of meh. :P_


	11. Forest Mystery

**Disclaimer: Yes, I still exist.**

_Haha, I know Meowth's part has been pretty bland at the moment. It'll get better though, trust me. And when it does, I'll probably update faster! So for now, here's Chapter 11...read it or else. XD_

...

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" Meowth screamed as his eyes snapped awake and his body practically collapsed right out of the warm, comfortable bed. His fur was soaked down do the bone with fresh, chilled water and he shivered from the exposure and in fear of the water itself. Meowth and water did not mix – no, not one bit.

"Talk about a wakeup call," Flower sighed, sweatdropping. "Was that really necessary, you guys?"

The gengar, Damien, shrugged. "If that's what gets 'im up, I'd say so," he replied with a toothy smile. "One gets tired of using the same old ghostly tricks from time to time to get his comrades out of bed. Besides," he turned to the water type beside him, "I'd say you had some fun with that, didn't you Blastoise?"

"Ha_ha,_" the large pokemon laughed. "I never said I had fun messing with the future hero, now did I? I'm just relieved that I haven't completely lost touch with my hydro pump, yet. Been a while since I've done that...guessing I should do it more often, no?"

"Well," Damien said, still grinning. "You can always stop by here any morning you'd like – I appreciate the volunteering you take in this seemingly impossible task. I mean geez, I've heard of meowth sleeping for long hours of time but this kid's ridiculous! An entire week could pass and, if no one were to wake him, he'd still be in that same spot of his, dreaming up a storm!"

Meowth huffed and crossed his arms. "Hey! Dat's a downright insult to my very species!" he accused. "What's more, ya've gone and dunked me in water all da way down ta my skin – I hate water! Dat wasn't very nice, ya know!"

Damien put his arms up in front of him in a defensive stance and laughed. "Wow, I'm _soooo _afraid of the cranky wittle puddy tat!" he taunted playfully. "...**not**."

"Oh, yeah?!" Meowth countered. "Not afraid, hoih? Well, I'll make ya afraid then!" Claws extended from each paw as he took a battling stance in front of the ghost-type. Flower sighed and rubbed a paw delicately to her forehead. _Here we go again, _she thought.

"Whoa, dude...seriously, calm down." Damien rolled his eyes, but didn't for a second get rid of the ghostly grin spread across his face. "If you're gonna be that way, kid, I'll just leave and come on back when you're in a better mood. At least stop messing around...I mean, you **are** the Stronger One or whatever...so why don't you go out there and protect us?"

"Maybe we should_ all_ stop messing around and get back on top of business." Blastoise suggested hastily, eying Damien as he said it.

The spikes on the gengar's back flattened down. "Man, that's no fun." he pouted.

An odd glimmer shone in the water type's eye. "Hm? Are you perhaps _complaining _about your placement?" he persisted. "Because...you know, we can always put you back on janitor duty in the kitchen...I bet Lars would happily trade jobs with you."

The gengar's eyes widened. "Psh, no way!" he argued, flicking his paw. "I'm happy with this job – perfectly happy!" He looked down at Meowth and Flower. "Do you two hear me complainin'?" he asked, then added quickly before they could open their mouths to the width of a caterpie's string shot, "No! I'm not complaining, not at all, I mean...come on!"

"Good." the large turtle-like pokemon replied. "I'm sure that being the HQ's official alarm clock gives you something totally worth living for."

Damien appeared not to be listening and continued ranting on as he left the room. "Me? Complaining? No, I don't complain! Not ole' Damien! I'm perfectly happy with this job. No mopping up the floors for me! I'm completely and utterly happy...psyched beyond belief! There's no way in Arceus's name that I could _possibly _-"

Blastoise laughed as his voice faded away. "That Damien." he chuckled. "Honest to day, he really livens the place up in the morning. I never thought I'd say it before, but thank goodness for that gengar."

Flower sighed in relief. "Hey, Blastoise...thanks for saving us from that catastrophic episode," she complimented. She turned to Meowth. "And _you,_" she emphasised, then smiled and shook her head. "Haha, don't scare me like that again. For a minute there, I thought you were actually going to confront Damien in battle."

"Heheh, _yeah_." Meowth falsely agreed, sweatdropping. To tell the truth, he probably would've attacked the gengar and engaged in quite the war if he had not been interrupted from doing so. He wasn't disappointed, though – in fact, he was partly grateful for the cause. When he thought about it realistically, he probably would've been destroyed by the ghost-type. But still, a question came to mind...was he willing to fight out of battle instinct after the training he had gone through the other day, or was it just out of morning fury from having his sleep being disturbed? He really wasn't too sure.

"Well, enough's enough," Blastoise concluded. "You two are up now, so you might as well come down to eat breakfast." He began to leave, and then stopped once he remembered something. "Oh yeah, I believe Alakazam told me he wants to have a word with you this morning. He's probably still down in the cafe, so I'm sure you can discuss it with him while you eat."

"Alakazam wants to talk to us?" Flower quired, cocking her head. "What about?"

Blastoise shrugged. "You'll figure it out once you get down there, now won't you?" he answered. "I think he wants to talk to you about your plans for today. If you haven't already heard, Calix left last night, so he isn't around as of now. A sudden mission cropped up, I guess."

A worried look came to the ivysaur's face. "He left? Gee, I hope it wasn't too urgent."

"I'm sure everything must be fine." the water-type assured. "Calix usually knows what he's doing. He'll be back in a couple of days without a scratch on him. Whatever the problem is, Calix is strong and smart enough to fix it up."

"Hm, so Calix is gone?" Meowth asked. "Does dat mean we still hafta train and stuff?" Blastoise looked down quizzically at him and he suddenly noticed how whiny his voice sounded for the one who was supposed to be this world's future hero. Quickly, he cleared his throat and corrected his tone. "I mean, well,...trainin's real _fun_ and all...but takin' da day off doesn't seem too bad of an idea ta me."

"Take the day off? Why, you've only been training for how many days? A grand total of one?" Blastoise laughed. "Oh, and stop asking all these questions, kid, you're giving me a headache." He put a large paw to his forehead as he said it. "If you want to ask questions, ask Alakazam. He'd probably be happy to answer whatever question you'd happen to throw at him. But please, not me." He laughed again. "I'm all brawn and no brain, man."

"OK. Thanks Blastoise." Flower quipped in before Meowth could ask any more questions. She turned to her feline friend. "We should get ready to go eat breakfast, Meowth. Then we can ask Alakazam what he wants us to do."

Meowth sighed. "Awright."

Flower giggled and nudged his side. "Come on, don't be such a sourpuss." she ordered playfully. "Training's not that bad, Meowth. Might as well get used to it now, right?"

Meowth grumbled and followed the other pokemon down without a fuss. He didn't know Alakazam too well but by the looks, he seemed tough – tough as Calix or maybe even tougher. If Calix shoved hard and unforgiving work down his throat until he felt numb, then he couldn't even think of how a training session of Alakazam's might work. Still, the psychic type didn't seem quite as physical in battling as Calix...would he possibly cut a poor meowth some slack? He knew here he was apparently considered as some kind of legendary hero, but don't heroes take breaks too?

Ah well, perhaps he would be better of if he just faced fate as it was without puzzling it over too much. He just hoped that any ideas Alakazam might have wouldn't be _too _crazy.

...

"Wait...WHAT?!" Meowth spewed milk out of his mouth and all over the table in front of him, causing Flower, Alakazam and the nidorina standing by to move appropriately as to not get soaked.

Alakazam's face looked unusually calm. "This is the third time I've explained it to you, son. Would you like me to go over the details once more?"

Meowth wiped his arm across his face to rid of some excess milk, seemingly a bit embarrassed by his own outburst. "Well, no, I tink I must've hoid you correctly dis whole time." he replied disappointedly. "But still, I don't understand why ya want me ta do dis. Split up from Flower? I can't."

Alakazam raised his eyebrows. "What would make you say that?" he questioned in his calm, mild and emotionless voice.

"Uh, well..." Meowth trailed, scratching his head. "Da whole time I've been here, I've always been with Flower."

"So?"

"So..." Meowth knew he didn't want to leave the ivysaur. Ever since he had brought himself into the new, unknown world, he always felt a little weird and out of place. Flower was the only one he really got to know in that amount of time and as long as he was with her, it was almost as if he felt more...secure, more confident. Like as if she was his only real friend for the time being, and everything was easier when he was with her rather than alone.

"Well," he continued, looking up at the psychic type. "It's just...ta split us up so suddenly...it really doesn't seem like a good idea ta me." Alakazam did not appear to be very persuaded.

"I mean..." he tried to think of another excuse. "I-I get off focus when I'm on my own, you see. I'd find it much better if I had someone who could...ya know, keep me company while I'm about my woik."

"Meowth, I already told you...Flower can't. I need her to take care of Ralts and Lou today." Alakazam reminded him. "You'll be fine alone for the time being. When Calix comes back, you can return to whatever training you were doing before but for right now, he wants you to work on your battling skills by yourself."

"By myself? How am I supposed ta do dat?" Meowth asked. "If I ain't mistaken, I'm pretty sure ya need ta have more den one pokemon ta have a pokemon battle."

"Precisely." agreed Alakazam, folding his arms against his chest. "And that is why I'll be having you explore a Mystery Dungeon today."

Meowth raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Mystery _what-y_? I tink you lost me."

"Oh, right, I forgot...Meowth's not from this world." Flower reminded herself aloud, then tended to the cat's question. "Mystery Dungeon's are...well, pretty much what they sound like. They're odd places where different varieties of pokemon tend to inhabit. Like in a forest dungeon, you might see a lot of bug and grass types, and so forth. Dungeons are found all over the place here and more and more of them are discovered over time."

"So..." Meowth scratched his chin. "How would a forest dungeon be anyting different from just a plain ol' forest?"

"Well," Flower continued with a usual smile. "That's what's weird about it. They call them Mystery Dungeons because every time you go into one, it seems to be different than what it was like the other times before. I know it's kind of hard to explain...I guess that's why they're still calling it a mystery. Not even some of the smart pokemon here at the HQ know how to explain it quite yet, not even Alakazam."

"Dat doesn't make any sense ta me."

"I'm not really sure if it's supposed to." she giggled. "But anyway, unlike the pokemon who actually live there, there are other pokemon that venture in there on their own. There are some groups of pokemon called Rescue Teams, and they go into dungeons to do rescue missions, such as saving other pokemon in peril, catching outlaws or doing errands. There are also newer groups I've heard about that call themselves Exploration Teams. Their main purpose, as far as I'm concerned, is to explore areas and search for treasures, but I guess they can also do rescue work too." She shrugged.

"That's right." Alakazam cut in. "Exploration Teams have been known to also do rescue work, even though they weren't really developed for the purpose. Assumptions certainly started to rise that a lot of pokemon wouldn't need rescuing ever since the stop of the natural disasters, but slowly, more pokemon in need have been popping up again. Needless to say," he went on, looking Meowth in the eye. "That isn't what I called you to do at the moment, so it isn't important for me to go too in depth as of now."

"Den what do ya want me ta do?" Meowth questioned. "Just go off into some dungeon all by myself?"

"Yes," Alakazam replied. "Foggy Forest is a dungeon nearby that I would like you to take the time to visit – Flower can show you the way there. Basically, I'd like you to get yourself comfortable with exploring a dungeon. Later on you may have no choice but to take a dungeon's path to get to your destinations, so it's obviously good to get you ready for what you might be expecting in the future. You also might be lucky to get a little training in too, if some of the pokemon challenge you to battle."

Meowth stiffened a little at the word "battle". Frankly, he couldn't understand how some pokemon could actually get themselves to enjoy such an activity. "How will I know da way out?" he asked just as he realised he may have trouble with locating the exit of such a..._mysterious _place.

"Oh, you'll know." the pshycic-type assured. "You can't really get terribly lost forever, especially in a shorter dungeon like Foggy Forest. Usually, pokemon exit dungeons using mechanisms such as a Rescue Team Badge or an Exploration Badge if they're a part of one of those particular groups. Some pokemon also use escape orbs, and some even rely on teleportation – pyschics, mostly. However," he went on explaining. "I would like you to try to find the end of the dungeon yourself because, like I said before, it's good preparation for your future explorations."

"Excuse me – oh, are you done speaking, Alakazam, sir?" asked a feminine voice. A blue, rabbit-like pokemon had appeared near the table with a cart of dirt dishes and silverware.

"Oh yes, go right on ahead, Nidorina." Alakazam replied with a nod, handing her a couple stacked dishes from his own breakfast that the poison-type took carefully from him and placed carefully onto the cart with the others. Meowth, Flower, and three or so other pokemon from the other end of the table also pushed theirs toward the blue rabbit.

"How did you enjoy your meal today?" she asked as she took a wipe and dabbed at some leftover syrup on one of the plates.

"It was delicious, tanks." Meowth answered, patting his full tummy.

The nidorina beamed. "I'm certainly glad." The plate she was cleaning moments before was set on the growing pile and she grabbed for another. Alakazam reached for a small brown bag out of seemingly nowhere and handed it to the poison-type.

"Oh?" She inspected the brown bag, knowing too well what it was full of. "Why, Alakazam, what's this for?" she asked. She was already paid – though not too much – for her cleaning duties and wasn't sure if she should accept the extra cash.

"It's alright, take it. I've got plenty," he pestered. "Just consider it as...a tip."

"Oh, many thanks to you, Alakazam!" Nidorina praised, holding the bag tightly. "Bless you, sincerely."

He nodded. "You're very welcome."

"Well," she said, blushing. "I'm very flattered." She picked up the remaining dishes and stacked them onto her cart. "I should get going now though – lots of dishes still dirty and somebody's gotta clean 'em. Again, Alakazam," she bowed her head respectfully. "Thank you." With those last words, she wheeled her cart away to another table. Alakazam looked to Meowth and Flower, and both of them automatically looked back as if they had felt his gaze upon them.

"You two best be going, too." he advised. "Flower, the kids should be waiting for you outside. And Meowth," he looked at the cat. "You know what you have to do. Journey through the Foggy Forest and, if you ever find yourself in a terrible emergency," he handed Meowth a small, rectangular device. "Click the button on there and help from the HQ will be immediately sent to assist you." Meowth wordlessly accepted the emergency device and hopped off of his seat with Flower. They started to leave when the ivysaur suddenly turned around and ran back.

"Wait, I forgot to pay the bill." she laughed, reaching for some Poke in her pocket.

"Don't worry about it, Flower," Alakazam replied. "I've got it covered for the two of you this morning."

"Uh, Alakazam, are you sure?" the grass-type asked uncertainly. "I mean, it's not bad to be generous or anything, but I'm perfectly capable of paying myself."

"It's fine." the psychic-type said back. "I really don't mind taking care of the charges for today. Don't worry about it."

"Wow, thank you, that's very nice of you." she acknowledged shyly. She walked back to Meowth and the two of them continued to the door and brought themselves out and into the hallway.

"Gee," Meowth started once they were a ways from the cafeteria. "Alakazam sure is a nice guy. Is he always dat way?"

Flower shrugged. "To be honest, I'm not really sure. You see, I don't know very much about Alakazam." she admitted. "I mean sure, I know he's a part of Team ACT and he's one of the highly respected pokemon here at the HQ...but other than that, I don't often get to spend time around him much in person, so it's impossible for me to know. I guess he must be pretty kind, seeing that he gave that money to Nidorina and helped both of us pay our bill all at once."

"Dat's da odda ting..." Meowth trailed off. Both he and the ivysaur stopped in their path. Flower gave Meowth a puzzled look.

"What other thing?" she quired.

"Payin' for da meals," he went on, scratching his ear. "I didn't know we had ta actually..._pay _for dem. Alakazam paid for us today, but what about yesterday? I mean, da thought never occurred to me. I don't have any money..." Realising he didn't want Flower to think he was a hopelessly broke nobody in his past, he quickly covered it up. "I mean, I don't have any money in _dis_ woild," he quickly corrected. "And it's not like I know how ta earn it or anyting."

"Oh, it's alright, that's completely understandable." Flower assured. "I'm sure one of pokemon here at the HQ, maybe Gardevoir or Calix could have surely paid it for you. Or even Alakazam, come to think of it."

"Yeah, after what he did today, I guess it wouldn't be a surprise. But still -" He rubbed his chin and the two of them continued walking. He put a paw to his forehead and laughed. "Ah, what's da use of tinkin' it over? Whoever it was, I'm sure dey had deir reasons for doin' so. It's really thoughtful of them...I mean, nobody ever usually does anyting nice for me like dat." A small smile showed on his lips.

Flower smiled back. "Well, you _are _the Stronger One, Meowth." she reminded him. "I guess that counts for something, right?"

"Haha...yeah, probably." Meowth didn't say much more about it after that and just resumed walking with the ivysaur by his side. The grass-type chuckled inwardly to herself. _I wonder if I should tell him that _I _was the one paying his bills, _she wondered, then thought against it. _Nah, it's better to keep him guessing. After all, I'm not really sure if he really considers me his friend yet. Maybe sometime later, when I know for sure? _She shook her head. _Ah, what the heck, I'm being ridiculous. We're buddies...aren't we? _

"Hey, dis is da way ta outside, right?" Meowth suddenly cried out in excitement, running to the door nearest to them. "Oh **yeah**! I'm finally getting da hang of dis place!"

Flower giggled and allowed a sweatdrop to roll down the side of her face. "Actually, that would be one of the bathrooms, Meowth."

"Oh. Right, I knew dat."

...

Meowth inhaled some of the fresh air and sighed. It sure seemed to be a nice day outside – no one would ever have known it unless they had stepped out of that old building to see and feel it for themselves. Of course, it was great having a bed and tasty meals being paid especially for him, but being in the great outdoors always made him feel more at home. Even though it was in a whole other place – a while other world – he had spent most of his life sprawled out on a floor of grass and and underneath a ceiling of clouds, stars, and sometimes even thunderstorms. Mother Nature wasn't always on his side, but nonetheless she still felt homey to the cat.

"Well, I guess it's time for us to part ways, Meowth." Flower finally told him from the entrance of Foggy Forest.

"I guess." Meowth bit his lip.

"Why does Meowth have to leave?" piped a young, high-pitched voice. It was Ralts, the offspring of Gardevoir that Flower was told to babysit. A riolu also stood nearby – the one and only son of Calix himself.

"Yeah, why, Ms. Flower?" the riolu asked, also in a high voice, only with a bit of a lower tone than the psychic type's.

"He has to go explore Foggy Forest, Lou." she informed the puppy-like pokemon. "He needs to get ready for the tough journeys ahead of him before he goes off and saves the world." She winked at Meowth and he laughed nervously.

"Uh, yeah." he added. "She's right, kids. I gotta work at it ta be my best...dey don't call me da Stronger One for nothin'."

"But Meowth doesn't have to train, does he?" the riolu said, grinning. "He's already strong and brave, with sharp claws that could slice through any enemy and wicked cool battle styles! He can beat up any baddie that gets in his way because he's the best!"

"Yeah!" Ralts agreed. "He can take down legendaries and send them scurrying away in fear! Even the mountains and forests tremble in his very presence!"

_Whoa, what are dese kids bein' taught about me?, _Meowth wondered. _Dey seem ta tink I'm some kind of ultimate comic book hero or sometin'. For all I know...in dis woild, maybe I am. I could be, like, a celebrity or a super star, or who knows what else? _Suddenly, a grin formed and an odd glint shone in his left eye. _Heeeyyyy, I could have a little fun with dis!_

"Dat's right, kids." he boasted proudly. "I am da Stronger One, and I've come ta save da woild fer ya. Don't worry though, I got it under control. I fight evil like a weezing fights a cold. No one messes with me...'less dey want ta taste some of _dis_." He flexed out his arms as if to expose the non-existent muscle there.

_Oh man, _Flower thought, putting a paw to her forehead. Meowth was becoming a little too over-confident lately. She knew that all the pokemon at the HQ thought of him as a legend, even the smartest ones like Alakazam. She understood he was supposed to be their chosen hero, but she couldn't stop thinking about the fear she saw in his eyes just the other day, when Calix suddenly attacked him out of random. Right that very minute, Meowth probably felt completely indestructible, but what would happen if he were to be attacked again, right on the spot? _Oh, this is silly, _the ivysaur managed a smile. _Why must I worry so much about him? He knows what he's doing, right? He's the Stronger One! _It could be that maybe something happened to him in his journey to their world.Perhaps Gardevoir could have accidentally gave him a hint of amnesia, making him forget a little bit of who he was before? In any case, he would probably remember soon enough the legend his really is...but still, she couldn't help worrying.

"Yay! Meowth is here to save us!" Ralts chirped, clapping his hands and shaking Flower from her troubling thoughts.

"Yeah," Lou agreed. He turned to face the cat. "Oh man, I can't believe I'm seeing you with my own two eyes. To think that me, of all pokemon!" He giggled excitedly. "I mean, you're awesome, man! Can I have an autograph? Please?!" A small notebook was forced into Meowth's chest.

"Oh!" Meowth replied in shock. "Why...oh yes, yes, of course." He laughed. "I can give ya an autograph, kid. Here..." He looked around and then grinned before wading his paw down in a puddle of mud and slapping it firmly against the riolu's notebook. When the paw was lifted, a sloppy, brown paw mark of a meowth stood in the place of the once-blank piece of paper.

"Whoa..." the riolu gasped as he carefully took back the prize. Ralts gazed down at it and though it was hard to see his eyes from behind green hair, Meowth could tell he was jealous.

"Aw man, I wish I had a notebook!" the psychic pokemon whined.

"Haha, don't worry," Meowth assured with a flick of his paw. "I'm sure you kids can share it, can't ya?" Ralts began to look toward Lou and the fighting-type cautiously hid the notebook behind his back as if to protect it from anyone who dared to touch it.

"Alright, guys," Flower cut in between the young duo. "I think it's about time we leave Meowth at his duties – he's quite a busy little hero so he can't waste too much time around here right now, OK?" She nodded to Meowth, giving him the signal that he should be leaving while she had the attention of the youngsters. She looked down to the ralts and riolu. "Now, why don't we play a game? How about freeze-tag? You two love freeze-tag."

"Aw, freeze-tag's _boring_." Ralts sighed.

"Yeah," Lou agreed. "We play it all the time."

Flower tried not to frown. "Oh, it's alright...we don't have to play freeze-tag." she replied. "There's still plenty of other things to do. What would you prefer to play? What about hide-and-seek? There's also Truth or Dare..."

The two of of them didn't respond, but instead glanced down at their feet. Flower cocked her head. "Ralts, Lou, is there anything wrong?" she quired. The kids loved to play games and they were usually ecstatic whenever she even mentioned freeze-tag. She tried to search for a reason why, however it didn't take long for her to realise what it was they were longing for.

"Well..." Lou trailed. "It's just that...

"...we're not really...in the mood for any of that right now..." Ralts finished.

Flower bit her lip. "Oh," she said, the first word that came to her mind. "Then...if you don't want to play games...what exactly do you want to do?"

A huge smile formed on each face and instantly, the ivysaur's fears had been confirmed. It was silent for a couple of seconds before both of them started speaking the same thing at the precisely the same time in an explosion of words.

"**GO ON AN ADVENTURE! WITH MEOWTH!**"

Meowth turned around. He had been walking away as slowly as possible, trying to avoid going to the dungeon at all costs and thinking about an excuse to make up for Calix and Alakazam when he suddenly heard the childrens' sudden outburst. _Wow, dose kids really love me, _he thought. _To tink dey'd even bother to follow me around in dis place called a dungeon just fer da sake of keepin' me company or whatnot..._Meowth gasped as an idea unexpectedly came to his head. _Wait...if da kids come along with me in da dungeon...dat means Flower would have to come too den, wouldn't she? Flower can help me get through da awful place and...hey, it doesn't hurt ta have some of yer fans followin' you around and chantin' your name, eidda! _"You know, kids," he started, tapping his chin. "Usually I don't let a couple of youngsters like yourselves tag along after me, but da two of you seem ta show potential to dis ole' cat. Let's make a deal: You swear to tell nobody – and I mean _nobody –_ about dis...and you can become Meowth's number one assistants in da fightin' of crime! Whaddy'a say?"

Lou and Ralt's eyes lit up almost instantly at the offer.

"Really?!" Lou gasped. "You mean it?!"

Meowth nodded. "Yup. A hero always keep his promises, does he not? Da choice is yours...join forces with Meowth and become da strongest and wisest sidekicks of da one and only Stronger One, oooor..." he looked away with a hint of sadness on his face, "just sit around here...and miss out on all da fun!"

"We're coming with Meowth!" Ralts grinned without hesitation.

"You bet!" Lou agreed.

"Dat's da spirit!" Meowth cheered, pumping his fist.

Flower looked frantically before the scene before jumping in between the eager trio. "W-wait a minute..." she interrupted. "I...I don't think this is such a good idea." She turned her face to Meowth to try to hint what she was getting at. "I mean, these kids aren't ready for something like this. They haven't had much training or...or anything."

Meowth didn't take the hint and instead, smiled. "Haha, so am I, Flower." he said, lowering his voice so Lou and Ralts wouldn't hear. "But ya can't let deir hearts break after dey've been looking so forward ta dis...can ya? Dere's nothin' ta worry about – dey'll have fun."

"But Meowth...the elders won't like it if we change up their plans like this. Alakazam specifically asked -"

"Oh, come on. Dey won't even notice, not if we don't let dem know, dat is." Meowth almost pleaded. "It's just _one _adventure with da kiddos...just tink of how happy dey'll be, exploring a dungeon with da Stronger One himself. It'll fulfill deir very lives! Besides..." his voice trailed off for a second. "What could possibly go wrong?"

_A lot, _Flower thought uneasily. If the others found out, they'd be in deep trouble – not just Meowth, but herself, too. The kids were too young for a dungeon, no matter how short and easy it would seem to be, not to mention the terrible feeling in her gut that told her to held back. She wanted to persuade Meowth out of his silly idea, but when she opened her mouth, it was as if the exact opposite came out. "Oh, you're right, what am I worrying so much about?" she tried to chuckle. "It couldn't be...that bad, could it?"

Meowth grinned largely and Flower suddenly wondered why almost everything she said was something he liked to hear. He nodded to her and then toward Ralts and Lou. "Alright, kids, what da heck are you all waitin' fer? Let's go adventurin'!"

"YEAH!"

"Let's do it!"

_Please, just let everybody come out alright, _Flower pleaded in her head. _Let's just get this over with and hope for the best..._She forced down the lump in her throat and followed closely behind the other three as they entered the giant gap leading in to the forest, regretting her decision with every step each teal-blue paw took.

...

"Wow, I don't get what so scary about dis place," Meowth said mostly to himself as he and Flower walked steadily through the overgrowth. Both Ralts and Lou were running around freely, laughing as they chased each other from between trees. The sun barely peeked down through tiny openings of the trees above as the four of them trekked further through the forest. They had only been walking for about ten minutes but to Flower, it felt more like hours. Nothing bad had happened yet, but her nerves were going crazy and it made her sick to the stomach.

"I mean..." Meowth continued, still puzzling out loud to himself. "Da way Alakazam put it made me tink dere was gonna be, like, danger around every corner or somethin'. So far – nothin'. It's just like takin' a leisurely walk down da park, no biggie at all. Why would he even send me here anyway? It's just silly."

Flower tried to keep calm but the nervousness was starting to give her a killer stomachache and she stopped in mid-walk. Meowth kept going a couple more steps until he looked back and noticed she wasn't following. "Hey, Flower..." She didn't come after he called her name, so he walked up to her and placed a paw on the bud of her back. "Come on, we should get goin'. Da kids'll get way ahead of us if we don't."

She still didn't respond, causing Meowth's smile to fade. "Hey, uh, Flower..." he started up again. "You OK? Yer lookin' a bit pale. Ya sick or somethin'?"

Flower finally regained the words in which to speak. "Oh yeah, I-I'm perfectly fine, Meowth," she lied, taking a step forward with her paw. "Just...uh, haven't been in a dungeon in a while, that's all. I think I...you know, have to warm back up to it and I'll be fine."

"Ah, don't sweat it," he replied coolly with a wave of his paw. "I doubt dis is even one of dem dungeons at all. It must still be up ahead. Besides, even if it were, you're still really strong. I've seen ya in battle."

Flower tried to force a smile. "Not as strong as you..."

Meowth's stomach turned, once again feeling he was living a lie. Even after the day before, Flower still believed he was as strong of a pokemon as she had first thought. "Oh, n-no, don't say that. I mean..._sure_, I may be strong, but you're pretty good yourself. And dis is comin' from the lips of the Stronger One," he assured falsely. "Seriously, we're gonna be fine." _Now just to figure out where da heck we're goin', _he thought, sweatdropping.

Unbeknown to Meowth and the others, a pair of eyes was distinctively tracing the group, looking a bit pleased at what they saw. "Hmmmm," a voice hummed from between the bushes. There was a small rustling sound as what was hardly visible of a shadow bounced away.

Flower, in her tense state, heard the rustling of the bushes. Her head spun around to catch what could have been the source of the sound, but everything was clear of suspicion. She shrugged and continued on her way, deciding it wasn't anything to fret about – the noise was so small it might as well have been the wind, or just a small pokemon scuttling around.

All thoughts of this matter were soon turned away as laughter erupted from the left followed by both Lou and Ralts storming in front of them, still chasing each other in what seemed to be some breathless game of tag. Seeing them race so fast made Flower nervous again. "Hey, you two, be careful. You might trip or run into something, and I don't want you getting hurt since I'm responsible for your well-being, alright?"

"Don't worry," sang Lou innocently. "We're being careful!" Ralts started catching up to him and he regained speed, tearing away from Ralts's grasp before he could be tagged.

Meowth saw Flower's troublesome expression but she managed to wash it away once she felt his gaze. She looked up at him and tried to chuckle. "Kids will be kids...and boys will be boys, eh?"

Meowth nodded, not really listening or paying attention to Flower whatsoever. He was fiddling his paws, still wondering where they were or where they were going. Apparently, he'd be able to find his way eventually, but a map or directions would still be nice. He was still wondering this when he spotted a squirrel-like pokemon placing berries into the nook of a tree. "Hey," Meowth said, nudging Flower. "Dere's someone over there. I tink I'm gonna go ask dem for directions. You stay and watch da kids."

Flower saw the nearby pokemon Meowth was talking about. She would have liked to tell him that there _were _no standard directions for a dungeon but, as far as he was concerned, they may as well not even be inside of one. Through experience, she knew it was hopeless to try to reason with Meowth, so she merely nodded. "Alright," she answered him. "But be careful. Some pokemon in here may get angered easily. Remember, they aren't sophisticated like the pokemon in the HQ – they're creatures of the wild and with that, highly unpredictable."

"Yah, yah...I gots it under control." Meowth's smile widened and Flower shook her head in amusement. No stopping him, now was there? Taking the shake of Flower's head as a form of permission, Meowth allowed himself to pad up to the stranger by the tree.

The pokemon was still propping a nut safely into the small opening in the tree when its ears picked up the sound of footsteps from behind. It spun around quickly and without a moment, it began to produce sparks from the yellow sacs on its cheeks and posed for battle. Meowth jumped back a couple inches, but slowly took another two small steps forward.

"Whoa! Wait, hold on a minute, dere!" Meowth cried, taken by surprise. He held up two paws in front of his face as if it could shield himself from the jolt of an electric wave. "I a'int here for harm! I'd just like ta ask a question, if ya don't mind?!"

"What is your business here?" the pokemon – a pachirisu – ordered, its cheeks still flashing with lightning.

Meowth's eyebrow rose quizzically. "Business?" The electric-type fired down its stored electricity at Meowth's feet, which he leaped a good five feet in the air in order to dodge. It was hard to tell if the pokemon had aimed in that certain direction, or if it was just getting rid of the excess electricity it had been storing up in its cheeks.

"Wild meowth do not normally inhabit this area," the pachirisu answered, and Meowth could tell by the voice that it must be a male. "So either you are here to promote violence...or, you have some kind of better reason?" The pachirisu would have guessed Meowth was a rescue or exploration team of the sorts, but could find no sign of signature cloth or bandanna around his bare neck, so to make that assumption did not seem well worth his time.

"We're not here to promote violence. In fact, I'd like ta avoid as much battling as I can, thank ya very much." he chuckled a bit nervously. "We're just kinda...visiting...and I wanted to ask -"

"Look, I'll make you a deal," the pachirisu interrupted. "If you just walk away and stop bothering me, I won't bother you, alright? I'm a bit busy with hibernation, you see. Winter's almost here and I can't be wasting my time trying to identify who the heck you are." He put his paws on the acorn stuck the tree's opening and continued trying to push it inside.

"Hey, all I wanted ta know is where da exit is!" Meowth retorted. "I'm a bit lost here and I'd just like some directions, OK?!"

The pachirisu gave Meowth a weird look. "Directions?"

"Yeah, dat's all I ask!" Meowth replied. "So if you could just tell me, I'll be on my way, I just gotta know where -" He felt Flower's vine wrap around his arm.

"Come on, Meowth," she muttered softly. "He's right. Best stop messing around and get going now."

"What?! But -"

"She's right, cat, we'll all be better off if we just end the conversation as is. You're lucky enough I didn't have to fight you. Most pokemon here will become enraged by having their hibernation preparation disturbed." When he saw they hadn't stopped leaving, he sweatdropped. "Well...off you go now." he proclaimed, then turned his back again in ignorance. Flower smiled and pulled at his arm gently. Meowth got the hint and walked back to where the kids were plopped down next to a tree, trying to catch their breath after an intense game of tag.

"Alright. Back to the road again, kiddos." Flower informed and both pokemon got up on cue to obey their babysitter's order. Lou hopped to his feet and poked Ralts in the arm. "You're it, again!"

"Why?! I can never catch you, Lou, you're too fast!" Ralts cried. The riolu laughed, apparently not listening to his friend as he weaved between another couple of trees, waiting for Ralts to catch up to his tail – which Ralts had started attempting to do, although his legs were not as fast as those of the agile fighting-type's. Soon enough, both kids were to and fro once more.

"Man, those two really do scare me sometimes." Flower commented. "It's not long before one of them are going to get seriously hurt. A dungeon like this really isn't the place for youngsters."

Meowth tried to ignore the last statement as to not get sent on a guilt-trip or anything of the sort. Besides, he still had questions. "I don't get it Flower, why wouldn't that grumpy old squirrel give me any directions? I mean, it shouldn't be _dat_ hard...he lives here, he should know."

"It's just like I told you before, Meowth." Flower reminded him. "This is a dungeon. Dungeons aren't like normal places. A dungeon will change whenever you go into it and thus, so will the exit. But somehow, you always end up making it through, so I know we'll be OK."

"Dat still makes no sense though." Meowth put his arms behind his head as they walked. "A place that changes every time you go into it. I mean...wow..."

"Guess you didn't have anything like that in your world, huh?"

Meowth looked down and nodded to her. "Yeah. Even if someone _did _find out someting like dat in my woild, everyone would tink _dey_ was crazy."

"Huh..." Flower cracked a smile. "Does that mean you think that I'm crazy now?"

Meowth shrugged. "If anything, I think I'm probably da crazy one." he admitted. He and Flower laughed, but Meowth couldn't help believing it was probably true. He probably was just going crazy this entire time.

"Speaking of crazy, what **I've** come to think is sort of silly," Flower started once the idea came to mind. "is how Alakazam had told you to come to this dungeon and everything, when he probably should have known, with his high IQ and all..."

"Known what?" the normal-type quired.

"Well, he sent you to Foggy Forest because he wanted you to get experience, didn't he? But around this time of year, most of the forest pokemon are preparing for hibernation – the pachirisu even said so himself. Wouldn't Alakazam had known that?"

Meowth shrugged. "The pachirisu also said a lot of pokemon get mad and beat up on people when dey gets interrupted. Maybe he was hopin' I would go bother a bunch of 'em so I can get some battling in."

"I don't know. Maybe...but it still seems like a weird way to get you to battle. You think he would've picked a different dungeon, like the sea or something...you know, where pokemon don't usually hibernate."

Meowth's eyes popped. "Wait, _what_?! You're tellin' me there's an underwater dungeon now? Dis place really is as crazy as I thought!"

Flower giggled again – Meowth just never failed to make her laugh. It usually made her feel a little bit better, forgetting about all her worries and just enjoying the present as is. She couldn't talk about anything with the feline and still manage to keep a straight face. "Yeah. Unfortunately, we're pretty crazy here, but that's alright...you fit in better, that way."

Meowth rolled his eyes. "Hah. Good one, Flower. Good one."

Meanwhile, both Lou and Ralts had gotten pretty far ahead, not about ready to abandon their game. Well...Lou was, at least. He had been hopping against the tree trunks to gain more momentum with every leap forward – a trick he had learned from his father. With every tree, he created more area between himself and the psychic-type.

"Lou, I can't catch up! Run slower! I'll never catch you!" he heard the voice from behind, fading away as he went. Lou smirked...he was winning. But he still hadn't won yet, not until Ralts lost his trail completely. He finally came to a treeless spot and had to land himself back onto the ground, where he didn't pause to take a break. He kept running, his legs taking long leaps as he went.

"Lou! You're too fast!" the barely audible voice came.

The riolu kept up his pace and looked behind him to make sure the psychic-type was no longer in view. Good. He was almost to victory. Ralts would give up soon and he would be declared the winner once again, the unbeatable champion of tag.

Run. Leap. Run. Leap.

He could feel his energy running low, but he knew he couldn't stop now. Ralts was probably playing a trick – he could pop out any second and, without a time to realise what's going on, Ralts would tag him and it would be the end of the game, not to mention the end of the champion streak. The psychic-type wasn't exactly fast, but he was learning how to use his teleport and could sometimes get it right when he tried. There was no point in taking chances.

Lou kept running. He could no longer hear Ralts behind him, but he still ran. As he did so, something weird started clouding his vision. The further he seemed to go, the thicker a white fog began to ensconce him, blinding him. It came to a point where he could hardly see at all and with a final leap, Lou had bumped into a tree and fell onto his back.

"Ugghhh...OK, I guess I won now." he breathed, clutching at his chest. He opened his eyes and saw nothing but white, foggy clouds. He rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision. It didn't work...uh oh. "Ralts, where are you?" he asked, getting up and trying to feel around. "Ralts? Are you there? Ralts?!" He began to get more frantic, blinking his eyes and clutching at empty, cloudy air.

A tiny shadow began to emerge from the clouds. Lou leaned in, trying to make out the figure. "Ralts?" he quired. "Ralts, is that you?" The shadow came closer and with that, bigger too. It started getting larger and Lou gasped, realising it was not his friend, but rather some other creature. He backed away, but was stopped by a tree from behind him. His head turned around this way and that, trying to find a way out but it was too late...the shadow had already cornered him.

"_**HEEEEELLLLPPP!**_" he screamed in terror, but his cry went unheard as something hard and rough covered his mouth before he was pulled away into the fog with an intimidating shadow taking the riolu in tow.

From behind, Ralts suspected nothing as he fell to his own knees and took in deep breaths. "Alright Lou..." he panted. "You won. I can't run anymore. You can come back now."

Nothing aside from few noctowls' hooting resounded on the wind. "OK, Lou, it's not funny anymore." Ralts heard himself growl. "Stop playing around. I know you're there." When silence came after the last call, he felt his stomach twist up in a knot.

"Lou! Stop it right now!" he demanded.

Just more silence. Ralts sat back down on the ground and began playing with a nearby stone, hoping to soon see hear an answer from his friend. Lou was very competitive, but this time he was going a bit too far. He needed to make sure that riolu knew how much he had him worried once he came back. It wasn't fair that he could just toy with him like this. What was he waiting for, some tears being shed over his disappearance?

Ralts was still playing with the rock when Meowth and Flower had approached. Flower looked down at him with her trademark ivysaur smile. "Well there you are, Ralts. It's very much like you two to get me so worried like that. How many times have I told you to be careful in this dungeon?"

Ralts didn't answer.

"Ralts, are you alright?"

No answer.

"Wonder what's wrong with 'im?" Meowth wondered, mostly to himself, but Flower's heart raced. She had figured it out – something was wrong. Her eyes darted around in every direction, having no luck in spotting what they were searching for.

"Ralts, where is Lou?!" she asked, the worry clear in her voice.

The psychic type looked up at them with a terror-stricken face. Meowth could see his big blue eyes from underneath green hair, and they had began to tear up. Ralts didn't say anything but instead, wrapped onto Flower's leg and started crying with his head on her shoulder.

"Ralts..." Flower spoke softly, trying to act calm. "Did you see where Lou went?"

Ralts sniffed a couple times. "Well...we were just playing tag and then...and then I don't know what happened. He just...he just..." Before the psychic-type could finish, his head was bent down on Flower and he was crying once again. "He's just...gone."

Meowth and Flower looked at each other but neither could say a word. The riolu had gotten himself lost, and he could very well be in danger! He was Calix's son but he was still young – he didn't know how to defend himself and he was all on his own in a dungeon. They were going to have to find him fast. It was only a matter of time...

Meowth narrowed his eyes. He had gotten the kid into this mess, and he would have to get him out. Even if he got himself and Flower into trouble for it.

"Come on...Flower, Ralts. Let's go find him."

...

_Now, let's see how many of you I lost on that last chapter...just kidding. XD Well, it would be true, since I haven't updated this since November. And the stupid thing was, most of the chapter had been done then, I was just too lazy to put on the finishing touches. I really hope this chapter and this story altogether hasn't bored you all too much since the main plot still hasn't even started after almost 10 months of writing this. Plus, this is my first attempt at writing a dungeon, so I'm not really all too great at it (let me know how I did!). And it has also come to my attention that I shall no longer be writing in detailed mornings, since that's just boring and not worth wasting an entire chapter over. X3 I'm hoping that 2009 will be a better year for me in terms of fanfiction, so if I can get myself to finish at least more than ten chapters through that amount of time (amount that I achieved last year) then I'll be happy. Keep your eyes out for more updates, I'm once again going to try to raise this fic from the dead, so faster chapters might be something to look out for. ;) _


	12. The Corsola Culprit

**Disclaimer: There's a dead, weird-looking bug thing on my computer light, just inches away from my face. I call him "Arthur". **

_According to the reviews I have gotten on the last chapter, it appears my first dungeon was not a failure. :D That being said, I now present to you Beach Cave, the second dungeon in the writing of this story (besides Tiny Woods...that kinda makes it third then, huh?). Anyways, since you're here, might as well grab a cup of coffee and some marshmallows and read the thing, if you don't mind. :3_

...

"So...tell me again, where'd you lose this little doohickey of yours?"

The trio of pokemon had started their trek through the tropical cave. The sand below their feet was soft and sandy and the ocean's waves appeared to crash occasionally onto the exterior of Beach Cave, thus the reason for the salt water that dripped from the cracks of the rocky walls. One could say the atmosphere was about the same as it was on the beach itself, though without sunlight it was a bit cooler and darker throughout.

"A big scary pokemon attacked me," the small psychic-type pokemon reminded when asked the repeated question. "It came out of nowhere and stole my Smiley Charm! And I wasn't strong enough to fight back..."

"Oh, tsk tsk," the poochyena shook her head in false amusement. "Stealing isn't such a very nice thing to do, now is it? Especially from a sweet, innocent little kid. What a terrible injustice for that miserable excuse of a thief to do...good thing you've got us, we know all about catching dirty crooks like that, don't we James?"

"Hrrmmph?" The shinx turned his attention to his traveling companions who he seemed to forget were there. His cheeks were large and puffed out due to some sort of food item stored inside the pouches.

Jessie sweatdropped. "_Now _what are you up to?" she inquired in slight annoyance. She eyed what seemed to be chewy candies clenched in his paw. "And where in the bloody world did you get that?" she added, pointing to the stash.

The electric-type swallowed the chunks of edibility down his throat before speaking. "Well," he stated matter-of-factly. "Cliff happened to leave his toolbox open and I saw them in there; they looked pretty tasty so I thought I'd grab some. I think they're jellybeans or something." He popped another one in his mouth and practically swallowed it without chewing. "Mmm. You know it's weird, I never liked lemon flavour, but these yellow ones taste amazing!" He was about to eat another when a gray paw clasped around his wrist, forcing him to halt.

"Hey – nobody's allowed to eat candy unless they share it with me! Gimmie a piece." Jessie demanded, grabbing for a yellow-coloured candy before it could be offered to her. She looked at it only for a second before throwing it into her own mouth and chewing quizzically, trying to distinguish the taste of the mysterious sweet. It didn't take long for her to spit it back into her palm in disgust. "This isn't candy," she commented sourly, biting her tongue. "It's a piece of crap."

James looked both confused and awestruck, as if it were impossible not to enjoy something so sugary and delicious. Despite this, he managed to quickly shrug it off with a smile. "Ah well," came his satisfied reply. "More for me, then. Hmm...I just can't believe you don't like it, though. This candy is top quality stuff!" He was about to eat another when he saw the little wynaut cocking his head at him, though it was hard to tell whether or not he was staring due to his lack of eyes. The shinx extended out a paw with the pile of yellow candies. "Want one?"

"Actually, um..." Edwyn's small voice piped up. "...I only really like the gold gummi."

"Gold? There's a gold flavour of jellybean?" James quired. He studied the pieces of delicacy in his custody and scratched at the soft tufts of hair on his head. "How do you tell the difference between yellow and gold, anyway?"

The wynaut shrugged. "I don't know. But the gold ones are darker, and they smell a lot more yummy. My big brother says all psychic types, like me and him, like to eat the gold gummis. He also said that other different types of pokemon like different kinds of gummis. I guess maybe..." He paused for a moment, not sure whether he should give out his opinion. "I don't know, maybe the yellow gummi is the kind that your type likes."

"Well, I'll say." the electric-type agreed, shoving in another pawful.

Jessie facepalmed. "Alright, now that we've learned that important piece of information," she started impatiently, almost sarcastically, "let's just forget about the candy and move on. If we don't get going soon, we'll be stuck in here _forever _trying to scout for Junior's necklace. And I really don't intend on wasting my entire day or more on this little treasure hunt. The sooner we find it, the better."

Knowing Jessie was right, James sighed and pocketed the yellow gummis to eat for later along with the red and black ones he also snatched up from Cliff's toolbox – he had almost completely forgotten about the other flavours but didn't even touch them due to how appealing the yellow ones were.

However, Edwyn seemed a bit more into the idea and hastily nodded in response. "Yes," he replied, in an eager, yet nervous voice. "But it shouldn't take too long. Beach Cave really doesn't stretch very far. I came to the very end of it yesterday, and that was where the tough pokemon attacked me out of nowhere and stole my Smiley Charm."

"Tough pokemon?" Jessie repeated, tapping her chin. "You know...not to offend you in any way, but the only pokemon we've seen in here so far look pretty weak. Just what kind of pokemon was this impostor of yours?"

Edwyn frowned. "Well...I don't know what the name of the pokemon was." he admitted. He backed down a little, ashamed. "I'm sorry I don't know what it was. But I never really go out to dungeons much...I'm not really allowed. The only pokemon I know are pokemon from town, and they're all friendly. None of them would ever steal my Smiley Charm."

A barely audible growl of annoyance came after, going unnoticed and unheard. "OK then..." the poochyena muttered, having not the slightest idea of how to track down a pokemon without knowing what exactly they were tracking down. "Do you remember what it looked like, at least?"

"Hmm...well..." the psychic-type scratched at his face with his ear-like arm, in a state of thought. "It wasn't very big, I guess...I mean, compared to pokemon in the Square like Miss Kangaskhan and Wigglytuff. And it was pink with white spots all over it...at least, I think it was white. And it had spikes and horns coming out of it. It was like a spiky, pink rock." He shrugged at his vague explanation.

Jessie almost laughed, but somehow contained her amusement. "A spiky, pink rock stole your charm bracelet?" she asked, just to make sure she heard right.

"Well -" Edwyn began, trying to say the first thing that came to mind but was quickly interrupted before doing so.

"What kind of pokemon would look like a spiky, pink rock?" James was looking through his cards in attempt to find a pokemon that matched the young one's description. "Pink pokemon, pink pokemon...um...luvdisc? No, wait, that's not like a rock, it's like a heart-shaped fish. Uhh...let's see here...err...jigglypuff? Nah, it can't be, those things are almost weightless, not like a rock at all. OK, hmmm...pink pokemon, pink pokemon, pink, pink, pink..." The cards started to fall at his feet as they deemed to provide the incorrect answer.

"Ah, this is hopeless!" Jessie cried in frustration. "We'll never find a pokemon that looks like _that_!" Almost right after the poochyena's outburst, a pokemon that looked very much like a spiky, pink rock hobbled its way past the trio, ignoring their presence as it did so. Jessie sweatdropped, at a loss of anything else to do at that moment in time.

"Oh, I got it!" James exclaimed in excitement, holding up the treasured card. "It's a corsola, isn't it? They're pink, they're spiky and they definitely take the form of a rock! How could I have possibly forgotten all about that pokemon? It was almost clearly obvious!" He gasped in surprise as the pokemon in question appeared right in front of his eyes, slowly heading in the opposite direction. "Hey, there's one now!"

"Huh? Excuse me?" the pink pokemon quired, pausing and glancing back behind its shoulder.

"It...it _did _look like that." Edywn whispered in awe to the rescue team by his side, causing their heads to turn in attention. "It looked _exactly _like that. The pokemon that stole my Smiley Charm...it was a spiky, pink rock, just like that!"

The corsola, undoubtedly male by his voice, made a confused face to the three foreign outsiders staring him down. "Um, hello? If you don't mind, it's quite rude of you to stare."

"Rude of _us_?!" Jessie quipped, approaching the pokemon until she was just nearly inches away from his face. "You have the nerve to call _us _rude, when it is you who has deprived this poor...sweet...innocent little child of his most treasured necklace? Well, you just be glad I didn't kick your worthless guts out for that! Now **hand it over**!" She pushed her paw directly into the water-type's face in a demanding gesture.

The corsola looked both insulted and confused. After eying her over for a couple of seconds, he finally gained his voice in which to speak. "What are you, nuts?! Get away from me!" He tried to turn away and leave but the intimidating face somehow again appeared in his direction, blocking his path.

"Give us...back...the _necklace_!" Jessie grabbed two of the pokemon's horns, clutching them tightly to prevent escape. The corsola became even more shocked at his attacker's actions.

"_HEY!_ Just what is the big idea of this?!" he shouted, struggling to get free. "Let me go, you insane psychofreak!"

"Give it back!" she snarled in response.

The two pokemon growled at one another, the poochyena pulling at the corsola's horns and the corsola trying to squirm from out of her deathly grip. James and Edwyn sat a bit farther away, the shinx sweatdropping at yet another one of his partner's recurring episodes. Edywn however, seemed to be a bit afraid of the threatening side of Jessie and trembled a little, placing an arm over his eyes.

Finally, after having had enough of the whole ordeal, the corsola decided to take action. He opened his mouth and shot out five separate bubbles, which automatically swarmed the face of his foe. It wasn't much of an attack, but it was enough at least to make the poochyena let go in order to rub the bubbles from out of her eyes. The corsola, free, jumped back a distance to avoid the same situation.

"What nerve!" Jessie growled, still trying to regain her vision. "When I get my hands back onto you, I swear -" She hadn't even recovered from the last attack nor finished her threat when the water/rock-type took the moment to his advantage, throwing himself at her with a full-force tackle – or whatever kind of tackle is possible for a pokemon of his strength. Even without the power of a gyarados or the force of a torterra, he still managed to deal damage to his equally weak opponent.

The corsola made as threatening of a face as possible as he watched the poochyena guide a couple inches backward from the last tackle. "If you want a battle, I'll give you a battle," he replied calmly. "And I'll get rid of you without hesitation. Not only have you trespassed upon my family's territory, but you have also disrespected and violently assaulted me...and for that, you must pay."

"Violently assaulted? Pfft." Jessie waved her paw. "Just what do you mistake us for, fiends? We're a Rescue Team, you idiot. Now, you give us back that necklace before I **really**start -" She was once again interrupted as another tackle attack from the foe aimed in her direction. She let out a scream as she turned the side, however one of the rocky horns of the corsola managed to scrape her side in her failed attempt to dodge. She muttered under her breath as she rubbed at the mark in her side left by the attack. The fact that the corsola refused to listen had been making her angry, but the last hit she took from the pokemon had made her even more frustrated. "OK, _that's it_!"

With an infuriated growl, she slammed back down into the corsola, who still hadn't had the time to get himself back up after missing his target. The pink, coral-like rock yelped as he fell back, landing upside down in the sand.

"Whoa..." came her partner's voice from the sidelines, sounding quite amazed. "Nice tackle, Jess!"

The poochyena narrowed her eyes in his direction, not at all pleased that he had excluded himself from the fight to merely cheer her on. "_James_! Help me out!"

The shinx, not particularly interested in getting a terrible punishment, wordlessly took his place at her side. The wynaut looked around a bit nervously, feeling a bit more exposed to danger without James acting as his bodyguard.

"Ha." Jessie said with a superior smirk. She placed a paw down on the corsola's head before he could get up fully. "Now it's two versus one, and my friend here hasn't even taken a hit to name. And to make things better, he's an electric-type, he could easily electrocute that pathetic body of yours and, well, as for _me_..." She held her head high in dominance. "Well...maybe it'd be better if you didn't have to find out what kinds of things I'm capable of doing to you."

"Hmph. Big talk." the corsola replied gruffly, shaking the gray-coloured paw off of him and regaining his ground. "You say that you're strong, but all I've seen from you is a measly tackle. You two aren't anything special." He moved his eyes onto the new player in battle. "I bet _you_ don't even know how to control your electric attacks yet, do you?"

James narrowed his eyes. "Yeah, I can!" he protested.

The corsola didn't seem at all threatened by the claim. "Alright then." he said, turning to face both opponents. "If you two are so strong, I challenge you then. If it's an unfair fight you want, so be it. I'd be more than happy to kick the both of you out."

Jessie growled. _That annoying twerpy confidence...he's so going down if I have anything to say about it... _"Bad choice on your part," she warned the corsola, putting one paw forward. "You're going to regret this very day when we shove those smug words right back down your throat." She nodded off to the blue cub standing to her left. "Come on James, let's show this twerp a lesson he won't soon forget."

James nodded, bending down in a battle stance. "Right."

Jessie, satisfied with his answer, decided to make the first move on the field. Remembering how easily knocked out the corsola was the first time she fired a tackle, she decided to go ahead and use the same tactic to finish him before a _real _battle could start.

Unfortunately, this time the opponent saw it coming. He flipped himself over to avoid getting hit and by the time the poochyena got there, she didn't have time to stop before crashing into the wall.

_To think I'd fall for that again...what idiot am I taken for?, _the corsola thought, studying his work. He would have done more to weaken the dark-type as he had her in a tight spot for him to take advantage over, only the second foe had took a running start toward him as well – no doubt getting ready to collide head-on in none other than the infamous tackle attack.

He smirked. The electric-type seemed even dumber than his female counterpart, coming in with that tackle even though he had just seen the corsola avoid the same attack moments before. The corsola sat there unmoving until his target had come close enough for direct impact of an attack. When he and the shinx were within almost an inch of touching noses, the corsola fired off a stream of bubbles much like the one he had done to the poochyena before. The shinx, as planned, lost control of his tackle and fell flat on the ground in front of the water/rock-type.

"Oooh...my back..." James moaned, his leg twitching. He had expected a softer landing due to being in a cave filled with sand. "I think I landed on a rock buried deep under there or something..."

The corsola was surprised to witness two pokemon so much weaker than himself. Whoa, those two really were novices. Even pitting the both of them against just one of him, they seemed to be just a little less of a competition.

He was also aware, however, that they hadn't given up just yet. The poochyena had shook herself off from the pain of being slammed into the rocky wall and growled at the pink pokemon before her. "You little ingrate..." she seethed. "It isn't over yet. Wipe that nasty smirk off your face before I smack it off myself!"

"I must say, your determination is quite stunning." the corsola replied in a serious tone. "But if you _really_ want any kind of hope to win this battle, you're going to have to find something else to do besides a common tackle."

"Unnngghh...and what about you?" she argued. "What makes you so much more better and tougher than us? All we've seen from _you _is tackle and bubble! Ha, so much for being uncommon. Of course, my partner and I...we know a lot more than that, I can assure you. This was merely a warm-up to get our blood pumping – we haven't even gotten to showing you how terrifying Team Rocket's power can be!"

The corsola, already tired of hearing the poochyena's threats did not argue back, but rather flung himself at her again. Jessie, too distracted from the battle, found herself taking the full impact of the attack and before she was yet again tossed into the ground.

_His tackling is getting more annoying than ours, _Jessie felt like muttering under her breath. She saw the corsola wobble back up to her as she got back up onto her feet. _Grr...what nerve..., _she thought, angered at the pokemon who should've been weak enough to be taken down by someone of her strength. _That jerk won't be able to get away with that last hit..._With the fury built up inside her, just waiting to be released, she dove into the water/rock-type once more in hopes of knocking it straight into the wall without a pinch of mercy.

"Ack!" the spiny pokemon cried as the damage of the attack was inflicted. His body slid across the ground like Jessie had hoped it would, only instead of slamming into the wall, he landed in a cloud of sandy dust in front of James. The shinx seemed a bit confused about what to do when the pokemon landed in front of him; was the corsola done for or should he attack him? Try out a thunderbolt, maybe? The foe was upside-down and he sweatdropped as he tried to regain himself, a little embarrassed how he was unable to get back upright.

As the corsola struggled, Jessie smiled to herself. He seemed a bit helpless at the moment, so this was the perfect chance for revenge...and maybe a little fun. "Hey, James," she called, and the electric-type turned his head at the sound of his name. "Pass it back over here, would ya?"

James looked down at the spiky, pink rock at his feet and came to an understanding of his partner's request. She wanted him to tackle the pokemon back to her, didn't she? A bit hesitantly, he lowered his head down to the creature's level and knocked him over in Jessie's direction with the use of his skull. He was surprised to see the corsola spin, still fully upside-down along the sand and right up to the poochyena, who stopped the pokemon from going any further by placing a paw to him.

"Hey...not bad aim," Jessie stated, rather impressed. "Wanna see if I can do better?" She backed up a couple inches and then tackled the corsola again. The pokemon was sent back to the receiver in a similar fashion, only this time he gained two or three inches of air before he tumbled to the shinx. No longer upside-down, he quickly tried to compose himself but had no time as James sent him back again with an even harder bash of his head than the last.

"W-wait a minute, I can expla-" the corsola started as he flew to the poochyena, sensing that the battle had taken its turn and he was in deeper trouble than he had first hoped. However, he was unable to finish as he felt himself shot back before he could even stop guiding along the ground.

**Slam! Slam! Slam! Slam!**

The battle went on for a couple more minutes, with the corsola being passed back and forth between both opponents in what looked like a pokemon version of ice hockey...only unfortunately, he was the puck. He felt himself screaming a bit louder with every hit – not only was he himself getting weaker, but each attack seemed to hurt a lot worse as he was sent faster and faster across the field.

James laughed giddily as he bumped the corsola to Jessie using the left side of his body before turning around, readying for the next pass. "This is kind of fun!" he admitted. The water-type came back to him and he hit it again, this time with his right.

"Couldn't agree more," his partner added with a smirk. The last tackle from James flipped the corsola enough that he landed face-flat in the ground and Jessie stopped to look him over. Hmm...well, he didn't look to be totally zonked out yet...maybe just one more attack would do the trick. "Alright," she announced, taking a couple steps back. "This last one will be your final reminder of Team Rocket's painful revenge. It's about time to teach you not to mess with us."

The corsola's face plopped out from the ground and his eyes widened in fear. "Wait! Wait! Don't do this, it really isn't necessary! I wasn't-" His sentence once again went unfinished as Jessie's body collided into his harder than any she had done before. The corsola screamed as he almost flew to the cave's ceiling from the impact of the attack before quickly descending back down. It didn't take long for the soaring coral-like pokemon to strike the rocky wall and slide down to the sandy earth. A large explosion of sand and dirt enshrouded the creature after his collapse.

Jessie chuckled triumphantly. "We taught that incompetent fool a lesson he won't soon forget. Now we can finally put an end to all this madness." James nodded in agreement, still in a state of amazement. They won? They actually won? It was almost unbelievable and James was sure he wouldn't have believed it, only now since both he and his partner were stuck in the bodies of pokemon in a world they had never once before even heard about, almost anything seemed possible. After coming to a census that they truly _had_ won, he quickly caught up to Jessie to complete the deed. The two of them approached the injured pokemon by the wall, now visible since most of the clouds of sand had dispersed.

The corsola cracked his eyes open to witness the two shadows of his victors closing in on him and he gasped in panic, sweat beading down his face. "W-wait! Hold on...please...I'm done for, alright? Just let me go. Please, it's all I ask of you...have mercy."

Jessie smiled, quite enjoying the sight of the pokemon trembling and begging in a most pathetic state before her. "Now hold on, you're not getting rid of us _that_ easily. You know what we came for, so hand it over if you will." Her paw was once again shoved into his face and the corsola could do nothing but sweatdrop in his defense.

"I...I told you!" he snorted, still managing to keep his irritated stature while in his most unfortunate situation. "Whatever it is you're looking for, I don't have it!"

"We won fair and square." Jessie reminded the water-type, making him slink back somewhat. "Now give it to use before I have to take it by force."

"I don't have it! I swear!"

"Give it to us or pay the price!"

"Jessie..." James spoke up, hoping to make a suggestion. "The fellow sounds quite honest to me. I think he might be telling us the truth."

"He's not telling the truth." Jessie replied soberly, narrowing her eyes. "Junior said this was the guy who took his charm bracelet. The kid knows what he saw, James. You don't want to let him suffer any longer without his precious little treasure, now do you?"

"Er...well, no, but..."

"Precisely." the poochyena replied, confident that her answer was the correct one without any need of explanation. "Now if you excuse me, I have some important item confiscating to do." She was about to grab that corsola by his horns once more and shake the life out of him until she received the prize, but Edwyn, who had been standing nearby idly, cleared his throat before any damage could be done.

"Well, uh, actually, I don't think that's the guy that stole my Smiley Charm..." he admitted softly. Now that he had a good look at this corsola up close, he could tell it wasn't the same one. The one he saw yesterday had chestnut brown eyes and he could've almost sworn its body was tinted a lighter shade of pink as well.

Jessie narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean by that?" she asked cautiously.

"I mean..." the wynaut's voice shook a little, the little pokemon no doubt afraid of what the dark-type might do to him after delivery of his answer. "I mean, I think the p-pokemon...that stole my Smiley Charm...w-was a different corsola..."

The corsola in Jessie and James's captivity exhaled sharply in relief. "See? Your friend tells it as it is. I simply do not have anything to do with this...wait, what are you even looking for, a Smiley Charm? Good Arceus, I don't even know what the heck that _is_!"

"So...you didn't take it then, did you?" James asked a second time just to make sure, the disappointment clearly identifiable in his voice.

"**Nooooooo**!" the pokemon wailed, having had tried getting the message across numerous times before they could finally take the hint. "Can I _please _go now?!" Seeing as the others were ignoring him and hardly even seemed to hear his request, the corsola sighed to himself and began hobbling as far away from the incident as possible.

"Great." Jessie mumbled sarcastically, not taking any notice whatsoever in the spiky pink rock's disappearance. "Looks like that battle was a good waste of our time. Now what are we supposed to do? I'm not particularly in the mood to play another round of Corsola Hockey just for the sake of some necklace."

"But Jess, we have to find it!" James reminded her softly, nudging her side. "We're on a mission, and the boy's counting on us. We can't give up yet!"

Jessie glared at him. "Says who?!" she retorted in a harsh whisper. "He's just looking for some item he dropped. Is it really that important? We can just make him a string with shells tied around it and send him back home."

James sweatdropped. "I don't know...if he's making such a big deal out of losing it, he's probably going to want to get it back. It's quite important to him, I think. And you don't want to let him suffer any longer without it, do you?"

"James! Don't quote me!" the poochyena growled.

"Wynaut? You brought up a good point..." the shinx replied with a shrug.

Jessie slapped herself on the forehead. "You know, if it wasn't for that kid standing there in front of us, I swear I would've shaved off your hide and hung you upside-down to a tree by your pretty little tail for that last overused pun of yours."

"Good thing," James murmured, thankful for the child's presence. The psychic-type was busy looking back and forth at the path in front of him. "Speaking of the kid, I wonder what it is he's doing?"

The wynaut ceased his strange behaviour and turned to the duo. "I think Beach Cave has a pretty straight path." he informed as he remembered back to his last visit. "If we keep moving then we'll probably reach the end – and that's where the pokemon attacked me. It might still be there or...something." He seemed a bit worried at the suggestion to return to the scene of the crime but after he had seen his rescuers' last display with the other corsola, he had high hopes that they could use the same strategy again to easily win.

"If it stretches more than one mile away, then I'm out of this gig." Jessie announced, not very much enthusiastic with keeping up what appeared to her as such a pointless mission. James sweatdropped, running out of worthwhile ideas to keep his parter persuaded but fortunately, he was saved the rigorous task with the child's response.

"Oh no, a mile is kind of long..." Edwyn answered. "I don't think it's anything close to that far. It should be near to us, at least I'm pretty sure..."

James contentedly let out a small, white anime-cloud. "Well, that's a relief." Not only was it good to know Jessie didn't yet give up on the job, but he was looking forward to getting it over with as well; he wasn't in the mood to have to battle another pokemon with his low-skill level and plus...he was getting hungry and was feeling a bit tempted by the aroma of the gummis wasting in his pocket.

"Alright, fine. But you better hold true to that claim," Jessie said in probably the least-threatening way possible as not to scare the little wynaut completely out of his mind. "I have a leg cramp and I'm not willing to push it much further than it already is."

"OK." Edwyn nodded down to the path. "We should go then before it gets worse."

So with that, the three of them set off again down the one-way path. They all kept their eyes peeled for corsola and many were spotted alongside the other common inhabitants like shellos and kabuto. However, none of the corsola appeared to have custody of Edwyn's Smiley Charm. Most of them never heard or such a thing and a good amount of them had no memories of seeing a wynaut traveling through the cave recently in the first place. It was beginning to look like the mission of scouting for the lost treasure was to be deemed a failure after all.

They were still walking towards the end of the dungeons when Edwyn spotted yet another shellos hanging around vacantly. The wynaut decided to take another chance and approached the small pokemon carefully.

"Uhmm...sir, is it alright if I may ask if you've...well, seen my Smiley Charm anywhere?" Edwyn asked politely, his question being repeated to yet another water-type roaming the depths of the cave. "It's a bit small, it looks like a necklace...oh, and it's real bright and shiny, too."

Jessie and James groaned and, already guessing the answer had to be a definite 'no', they continued walking down the path without stopping once to confront or even bother looking at the shellos Edwyn had chosen to speak with.

"Hold on a second..." the shellos started, squinting his eyes to get a better look at the young psychic-type standing before him. "I think I might recall you speaking to me not too long ago, Sonny. You were roaming around lost and trying to find a ways out of this cave, if I am correct?"

Jessie and James spun around in mid-walk and eyed the slug-like pokemon after hearing his last statement. "Wait...you know this kid?" Jessie quired, wanting to get things straight.

The shellos, a bit of an old pokemon despite his small size and pre-evolution stage, nodded as he thought back to the incident. "Ah yes, he was in quite a pickle when I last saw him. Didn't look too happy and seemed a bit tuckered out, and he came to ask if I knew where the exit of this cave was. I managed to escort him back to the entrance safely and warned him not to come back unless he had the supervision of his parents." He smiled warmly towards Jessie and James. "It's good to see you two decided to come along with him after all. The boy certainly shouldn't be wandering around without his mother and father – it's very much unsafe for a kid of his age, you know."

The bridge of Jessie's muzzle went pink. "Ehhh...his mother...?"

"...and father...?" James finished, a blush starting to form on his cheeks. Both he and Jessie chuckled in an embarrassed state, each of them scratching behind their head with a forepaw. How could that old-timer have mistaken them of that? Their species had no resemblance to that of the wynaut. Both poochyena and shinx caught each other's eyes on one another in an awkward gaze and quickly turned away, their faces still a bit flushed.

Edwyn quickly caught onto the mistake. "Oh no, Mister Shellos, Jessie and James aren't my parents." he explained. "They're a Rescue Team and they're helping me out on a mission today. My family are made up of pokemon like me, and I live at home with my big brother. He's a wobbuffet."

"A Rescue Team, you say?" The shellos repeated. "Oh yes, I've heard about those organisations ever since the opening in this cave was drilled through. I guess it makes more sense then, bringing professionals along rather than one's guardians." He cleared his rusty throat and looked back to the child. "Anyway, what kind of mission are you looking to complete? You say you lost a charm of some sorts?"

Jessie, a bit fed up with all this asking, thought it best to cut to the chase. "Yes, that's exactly what we're looking for," she replied impatiently, getting up into the shellos' face. "Now have you seen it or not? Speak up!"

"Well actually," the shellos started back up as he gained composure from the demanding look in the poochyena's eyes. "I was about to mention that just up ahead, in the very dead-end of this dungeon, lives a corsola who goes by the name Flo. She doesn't very much like the presence of other pokemon, so she isolates herself there...nobody really knows why. However, I find it an important matter to bring up, seeing as she's been known to pick on other pokemon that come near her territory." He noticed the wynaut's eyes beginning to widen as he listened to the explanation. "So Sonny, let me ask you...have you gone up ahead from here? If that's the case, you must have traveled into Flo's territory."

The wynaut couldn't think of anything to do other than nod. "Well...y-yes," he stammered, finally finding the voice in which to speak. "It was a spiky pink rock...er, a corsola, that attacked me yesterday. And it was near the end of the dungeon too."

Jessie landed her gaze onto the shellos. "So, you're saying that this corsola in particular prowls around in her little area of so-called territory and attacks pretty much anybody who comes into her vicinity?"

"Yes. That would be Flo, alright."

"So if we went went up ahead, we'd basically be going into her territory...and she'd attack us right on the spot?" James asked a bit nervously; although they had beaten the other corsola they had met up with, this one sounded tougher and he was unsure if they'd be able to pull off another victory.

"I couldn't be too sure myself," the shellos replied. "I've never actually set foot there before, so I couldn't exactly confirm anything like that." Sensing the shinx's anxiety, he added, "I wouldn't worry much, to tell the truth. Flo may not be afraid to attack a single pokemon that wanders near her, but a group of three pokemon traveling together could make her more hesitant. I'd still urge you to go with caution though, especially for the boy's sake."

"Pfft. You don't have to worry about us, old man." Jessie chortled, rolling her eyes like a teenager would to an adult after been given a lecture. "We'll beat the crap out of that ninny and be back with the item in a flash. Piece of cake."

James's stomach grumbled. Cake didn't sound like too bad an idea at the moment. Or candy, even. He began to reach down to his pocket to grab another fistful of gummis to cure his hunger pangs but Jessie had already clutched around his arm and they were on their way to completing their first exhausting rescue.

"Alright...best of luck with the finding of the lost item, you three." the voice of the shellos' called after them as they left – Jessie dragging James along with her as the blue blobus pokemon bounced from behind.

Edwyn turned around and waved with the use of an ear-like arm. "Thank you, Mister Shellos, and have a good day!" he yelled cheerfully back before proceeding to hurriedly catch up with his Rescue Team, who had already gotten far up the path in the small amount of time.

As they went on their way, none of the pokemon were able to notice a small streak of gray slowly creep near the wall behind a layer of large rocks, coming from the opposite direction in which they were traveling.

...

"Well, this appears to be the dead-end." Jessie stated as she stopped, releasing James's arm and putting her hands to her hips as her eyes drifted around the area for any sign of life. "And I'm not seeing any corsola."

James too, began to take a look around himself as he rubbed at his arm. "That pokemon said she might be hesitant if she sees a group of us. Maybe she's hiding somewhere."

"Hiding? Seems to be more of a coward than we took her for, if you ask me." Jessie said to this. She looked down at Edwyn, who stood by her feet and appeared to have a worried expression plastered onto his face. "Are you sure _this _is the corsola who attacked you? I mean, there's millions of them in this place. It has to be another one."

The wynaut shook his head. "No," he whispered timidly. "It was here. It was here that I was attacked. It had to be her."

"Well, then..." James began to suggest. "I guess that means we should start looking for her?"

Jessie rubbed at her temples, having not been prepared for a game of Hide-and-go-Seek. Why in the world did life always have to be so difficult? "She has to be around here somewhere. Search the entire area and alert me if you find anything."

James raised his brow. "Aren't you going to be searching, too?"

"Eh...I'll join you in a second. I've gotta rest my aching leg...stupid cramps," she lied, sitting down and placing a paw to the leg in question to make her excuse seem all the more believable. Luckily, neither James nor the boy were able to catch onto the fib and they shrugged.

"OK, but don't take too long." James reminded her. "I'm not taking on that monster of a pokemon myself." He went off to search inside a suspicious-looking pile of rocks and Edwyn, not wanting to be left behind, followed closely. Jessie smiled to herself, glad to have fooled them into letting her get little rest and she laid her back down into the sand, sighing semi-blissfully.

Camouflaged from behind thick, pink, coral-like grasses, glared two chestnut-brown eyes. The corsola had been aware of the arrival of the three pokemon and she had taken the time to identify each of them from inside her clever hiding place. First of all, there was the wynaut. She was sure it was the same one from before, no doubt looking for the item she had taken off his hands. Second, the shinx. She'd never seen a pokemon like that before, but it appeared to be a friend of the wynaut, judging by the way the two of them were walking around together. However, the one pokemon she couldn't take her eyes off of was the black and gray dark-type laying in the sand nearest to her.

_That pokemon is back...but now what does it want from me?, _she wondered, glancing in the poochyena's direction. _And why would it be hanging around with that kid? It makes no sense at all why they would join forces. Especially since their objectives are almost plainly opposite._

The poochyena made a yawning noise and the corsola backed away when she took in the sight of the pointed fangs. _The best thing to do is to stay hidden, _she thought to herself. _As long as they don't notice I'm here, I'm sure they'll all go away. _

The corsola stayed positioned in her spot, trying to not make a movement or a sound. She held her breath as she saw the two blue figures approach the stack of growing coral from where she took refuge and slunk back as far as possible.

"Hmmm..." the shinx hummed skeptically, slanting his green eyes at the wavering coral – he could've sworn he saw a flicker of movement behind there just then.

The corsola's heart raced, knowing it wouldn't be long before she was discovered. She was indeed, correct, as two seconds later the coral had been pushed away by the identical blue-coloured paws and she came face-to-face with the creature's pink nose.

"Hey!" the electric-type announced excitedly as he had finally uncovered the culprit. "I found her, Jessie! I found -" The corsola aimed a beam of bubbles at his face and the shinx fell backwards, uttering a small yelp at the sudden attack. No one could do or say anything before the corsola revealed herself before the group and instantly looked to Jessie.

"Get out of here!" she declared in her bravest voice possible for the situation at hand. "Get! I don't care what it is you want from me now, but I want you **out**!"

Jessie rubbed at her eyes before getting up and brushing the sand off her pelt. "Hmph. Well pardon your manners." she scoffed. "That attitude isn't going to get you anywhere Miss, so why don't you just-"

"Get out! Please! It's all I ask!" the corsola, Flo, growled. "Don't force me to fight you again! You already got what you wanted so leave! Shoo!" She began to hobble away back to her hiding place in the coral but Jessie threw herself into the pokemon's path with both James and Edwyn gearing up from both sides.

"Wait, wait, wait. Hold the phone." Jessie ordered. "I already got what I wanted? What the heck are you even talking about? I've never met you before in my life. Now if you don't mind, our little friend here would really like to have his prized possession back!"

Flo looked confused too. "And you're the one to talk? If I do recall, you were the one who stole it from _me _just a couple minutes ago!"

"Look, I don't know what it is you must be thinking but...Jessie didn't take anything from you." James explained. "If she did, I would know. At least I'm pretty sure I would." He sweatdropped.

"But...but..." Flo stammered, trying to find the words to say. "How could that be true? You were just trespassing earlier in order to get the item from me. You should have it back now. And that's fine, you can keep it. I don't even want it anymore."

"So, you _were _the one who attacked Edwyn." James recited, though the information was a bit obvious at the time. "But why did you do it? He didn't mean to trespass. If you didn't want the item that badly, then why would you take it? There's always a good reason behind stealing, you know."

Flo looked down, avoiding his gaze. "OK, I know it was wrong of me to take it," she muttered. "But I wasn't in the best of moods the other day and the last thing I wanted was a happy little kid strutting around. I was hoping if I confiscated his little item, I'd teach him a lesson to never come back." She looked up, eying the wynaut. "Unfortunately enough, it looks like it had the opposite effect."

Edwyn appeared a bit saddened. "Why do you attack pokemon that come near you?"

Flo snorted. "I don't like other pokemon. I prefer to be alone." she replied soberly. "And when pokemon refuse to leave me alone, I try to get them to go away. Because they know I'll attack them if they come here, they avoid me...and that's what I intend for them to do."

_Antisocial, much?, _Jessie thought to herself but wisely held her tongue. "OK, alright, we understand you're...a bit uncommunicative." she groused. "Now, tell us where this item is and we'll leave you alone; forever if you wish."

"But, I already told you..." the corsola retorted. "You already have the item. You came here, attacked me and made a run for it. Don't tell me you have short-term memory or some other form of amnesia..."

"What? But that makes no sense at all!" James spoke up, confounded. "We never attacked you, and we don't have the item. So if we don't have it, and you don't have it...who does?"

Almost as if on cue, they heard a voice holler from a short distance away. "Hey! You three in there?" the shellos from before quired loudly as he appeared through the opening of the dead-end. He spotted Jessie, James and Edwyn right away. "Ah, so I was right after all! You're still here!" He scooted quickly towards the foursome, including Flo.

"Mister Shellos!" Edwyn gasped as he saw the shellos come into view. He had a small bruise on his side and although it was mostly harmless, it was something to take note of due to such a thing being nonexistent they last time they met up. "What's going on?!"

"I spotted somebody who I believe has your treasure." the shellos started, a bit out of breath. "It was a pokemon that looked a lot like...well, it looked almost just like **you**." He gestured toward Jessie and suddenly the other pokemon were able to catch on to what he was saying: Flo had been mistaking Jessie for another pokemon of her specie, and that pokemon happened to be the one who stole the Smiley Charm and apparently took off.

Jessie lifted her lip partly to expose an upper fang. "Where did it go?" she growled, at this point almost angry enough to tear that sorry soul to shreds after all it was putting her through.

"Well, the impostor showed itself not too long after you three disappeared." the shellos explained. "At first I thought it was you, but at the same time I knew it couldn't be possible because it had the charm in its mouth...and there was no way you could've retrieved the item that quickly." He took a breath, still panting, then went on. "When it came close enough to me I was sure it wasn't you because it wasn't wearing a Rescue Team bandanna and it also appeared to be alone. So I tried to stop the pokemon before it could get away. I challenged it to a battle by using a mudslap...it blinded the pokemon and kept it busy for a while and I was able to dodge its attacks until the mud drained completely from its eyes. It managed to hit me with a well-aimed tackle and before I could recover to fight back, it just took off." The listeners all gawked at him after he was done telling his story. It was all starting to make more sense now. While Jessie, James and Edwyn were busy with Flo, the shellos had been battling the _real _felon of the crime. And the bruise he had was obviously just evidence of the battle that took place.

"OK...did you see where that good-for-nothing thief went?" Jessie commanded, wanting to deal with the pokemon as soon as possible.

"Well, no..." the shellos admitted. "But I'm pretty sure it was heading out of Beach Cave. Luckily the sand here has kept a record of its footprints so you should be able to follow them. I'd hurry though...if the pokemon goes a distance away from the beach, you might lose track of its path."

Jessie growled under her breath. They had been so close to finally getting this mission done and over with when that other poochyena had to come and ruin it. Well, there was no time to think about what kind of horrible plans she had for that pokemon once they found it. Right now, they just had to focus on finding it altogether and they'd worry about the details later.

"Ohhh...that pokemon..." she seethed, shaking in fury. "When I finally find that bumbling fool, they will be getting no pity or sympathy from me!" Without warning, she took off in a cloud of sand, locating the footprint trail and following it closely.

"Err...Jessie...wait." James began to call but sweatdropped, knowing she was already too far off to hear him even if she had wanted to. He glanced down at Edwyn. "We better go after her before we get separated." he advised. Then, thinking of an idea, he lowered himself down to the psychic-type. "Here, get on my back and I might be able to get us there faster."

The wynaut nodded and made haste, following James's order by climbing onto his back and wrapping his long arms around the shinx's neck. It must've been a bit tight because he coughed slightly at the embrace.

"Hold on tight but...not _that _tight..." he squeaked through the constriction. The wynaut obeyed once more, loosening his grip a bit and James took off as fast as he could muster with a pokemon on his back, clinging to his neck like it was.

"Well...good luck...again..." the shellos called to them, feeling awkward to repeat the same phrase.

Flo appeared to just sit there with her mouth hanging open, all the events happening at once trying to collect themselves in her brain. "Hmm...well...now that all that ruckus is over..." she trailed on. "Maybe I should go take a little nap..."

"You know...not such a bad idea." the shellos replied, having to agree with her. The battle had tired out his old bones and it would be nice to settle down and rest for a bit.

"Yeah, but can you do it elsewhere? I...kind of want to sleep alone."

"Oh...right."

...

_And just when you thought it would be over...it ends on another cliffhanger. The one thing I always try to avoid, but somehow it always comes back and bites me in the butt. o.o The battle with the corsola probably wasn't the most amazing one you've ever read, but...you kind of have to start somewhere with Jessie and James. XD Oh, and as an afterthought...whoever can count how many times I said the word "corsola" in this chapter, you shall win your very own half-eaten chocolate bar (I'm feeling unusually generous...most of the time I only give out one-tenth of an eaten chocolate bar). So if you want to take this to your advantage, then go right on ahead! _


	13. Kidnapped!

**Disclaimer: Math homework seriously shouldn't exist...who the heck even had the idea to invent it anyway?!**

_Sorry for the arrival of a later-than-usual chapter and a late update on this site itself. What has it been, two months? I need to get myself back into this story. o.o; Anywho, for the time being, RTR will be the only fic getting major attention so if any update you'll be seeing from me, it'll probably be this. ;) So with that, enjoy the next portion!_

...

_Who is this? Where am I being taken? Why do they want me? Will I be alright? What about Ralts, Flower and the Great Meowth...where are they? How will I find my way back?! _

The riolu's mind raced with questions, hungry for the knowledge of what was going on. He wanted to scream for help, but his mouth was clamped down hard with what seemed to be the rough surface of a creature's hoof. He wanted to move or maybe even attempt escape, but the creature itself proved much stronger as it dragged him away into the fog to a place he probably didn't know.

A strong wave of panic overtook the young fighting-type as he realised what a mess he had gotten himself into. His heart felt as if it could explode any minute and he was finding it hard to breathe through the hoof gripping onto his face. His eyes darted to every place around him, looking for any hint for where he must be but the fog had clouded over his view and it was difficult to make out anything other than a blurred shadow of the kidnapper. He also kept his ears keen but other than the creature's clacking feet and his own frantic breathing, no general information could be gathered in the hearing department either.

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, he heard a voice – female, by the sound of it. "Hmm, so what is this we have here?" it quired with interest. The riolu gasped; the voice appeared to be coming somewhere from up over his head and with all the fog around, he couldn't depicter what kind of pokemon it was.

"It was a group of pokemon passing by," another voice, male, replied to this and it didn't take long for Lou to figure out that it had come from the abductor himself. "And this kid in particular was causing quite a ruckus. His behaviour has been a distraction and I was planning on teaching him a nice, solid lesson for it." Lou's face began to get hot in fear as the hoof clamped down tighter around his mouth.

"Then why didn't you?" the other voice asked from above. "Get rid of him now. I'll gladly help you do the honors if you wish."

_Oh no, they're going to hurt me, _Lou thought, whimpering softly. He should have never gotten separated from the group. He needed Meowth and Flower now more than ever. _Please guys, please,_ the puppy pleaded in his mind. _Please find me soon!_

The pokemon took no notice to Lou's anxious struggling. "No, wait; I want you to take a look at him first." he spoke up to the female. "This is a riolu. I've heard it's a pretty rare specie of pokemon...and I think we might have a use for him."

_A use?, _Lou wondered, having silently gotten himself to listen in on the conversation. _What kind of a use? What do these pokemon think I could do for them?_

There was a silence, as if the female were pondering those last words in struggle of finding an appropriate response. "A riolu, you say? Just what did you have in mind for him?" she finally questioned.

Lou heard a grunt coming from the opposer, who still held him willfully in his grasp. "Well, maybe if you'd get your lazy, feathered butt down here," he started a bit irritably, "I'd be able to tell you what I'm thinking. So stop fooling around and come down here, for Arceus's sake! Oh, the clear the fog up while you're at it...can't see a bloody thing out here."

Lou's eyes blinked as the air around him began to clear. The female voice above appeared to belong to some kind of an black, bird-like pokemon. Her wings were flapping widely in order to get rid of the fog, which cleared up almost instantly. The riolu could see around himself again – he was still in the forest and it looked the same as when it did before the fog came to ruin his vision. He and the two pokemon abductors were in a small area between a circle of trees. No sunshine shone down through the top due to the thick fog that clouded high over the towering pines.

"Oh, would you look at that?" the pokemon, a murkrow mused, ruffling her feathers as she landed down near her two ground-dwelling counterparts. "So _this_ is a riolu, eh?"

"I know, I expected them to be a bit bigger...or tougher looking, at least." the male pokemon replied. "After all, we're talking about a pokemon that can control and sense the radiation that flows out of other living beings."

The pokemon eyed Lou suspiciously. "Yes...that sounds like a mighty powerful ability for a pathetic little shrimp." she opinionated, finding it completely unbelievable but still interesting nonetheless. "Here, put the kid down. I wanna get a better look at him."

In one swift action, the riolu felt himself being thrown face down onto the muddy ground. When he lifted his face, it was caked with a mix of dirt and tears. He struggled to get up, but the hoof pinned him down on his back in order to prevent such movement that could lead to escape.

"Aww...what a baby." the bird snorted after having scanned the the pup thoroughly. "Look at him, he's crying. He isn't no use for us. Why, we ourselves could surely knock him out easily and I bet a lot of other pokemon here could too. The kid isn't strong...just let him free."

The riolu's eyes shined with a flicker of hope. Were they finally going to let him free? The fighting-type didn't know if he could handle much more before breaking down completely. With all of his heart, he promised to himself that he'd never wander off again if it meant sparing his life in the present. As soon as they'd let him go, he'd be off. He'd find Flower, Meowth and Ralts and stay close by them until they were safe back at Pokemon Headquarters. And until he grew big, brave and strong, he'd avoid coming to these dungeons at all costs. Lou closed his eyes and clutched at the earth beneath his paws, wanting desperately for something to hold on to for protection.

"Now, wait a minute, Stella..." started the normal-type with Lou in tow. "I'm telling you, if we get rid of this little guy, it would surely be a waste. We gotta at least try him out and see what he can do. I'm telling you, he's stronger than he looks. You remember what we've been told about this riolu like this, right?"

The other pokemon rolled her eyes and turned up her beak. "More like a waste of time, if you asked me..." she muttered unsatisfactorily. "But if you insist so badly, we'll check the kid's abilities. If he really is as strong as they say, we could find a use for him. However, I highly doubt -"

"Oh, we won't be needing much proof to come to an agreement on this." the deer-like pokemon, a stantler, grinned. He slowly stepped off of Lou and the fighting-type whimpered, rubbing a paw along his backside. The hoof had protruded deep enough into his skin to create a mark – a sore one, at that. The abductor's face came down to his and he looked on in fear.

"Now don't be afraid, little guy..." he coaxed, trying to sound gentle and reassuring. He reached a hoof down to brush along Lou's head but the small pokemon flinched back to evade his touch.

The flying-type sweatdropped. "Jon, it's obvious the kid's not gonna listen to you after what he's been through," she said, not amused. "He's afraid of you. No pokemon in their right mind is going to obey you in such a fearful state."

"Hey! Cut it out! I've got this all under control..." the stantler snapped, causing Stella to scoff in response with her wings on her hips. The normal-type looked back down at the riolu at his feet and smiled again. "You know there's nothing to be afraid of, right?"

Lou gulped, but did not speak. It was as if his tongue had a mind of its own, and it was now deciding to hold itself for the sake of his own safety.

"Come on..." Jon persuaded. "Speak. I know you're capable."

It was then that Lou realised: his mouth was no longer clamped shut – he could speak once more! Taking the opportunity to his advantage, the riolu took a deep breath and yelled as loud as he could in hopes to alert the others. "HELP! SOMEONE, PLEASE, I NEED HELP! HELP ME, HELP-" He hadn't gotten his S.O.S. far when the hoof came back down on his mouth for a second time.

"Shut up, you foolish child!" the stantler hissed, hoping the riolu's voice had not attracted the attention of any rescue teams that could be nearby. Lou whimpered softly, his eyes sly starting to blur.

"OK, now you've blown it." Stella sighed, placing a wing to her forehead. "If you think the kid's gonna help as at all after _that_, your antlers must not be screwed on very tight, bozo."

Jon looked to the bird pokemon and snorted before retracting his attention to the captive. "Now listen, kid. You don't know why you're here, do you?" The riolu quietly shook his head and the normal-type continued. "Well, we've heard a lot about your kind – it is said you can detect and even read the radiation that makes up others...a little something called aura, correct?" Lou nodded his head, still breathing through the deer's hoof as his eyes wobbled, trying to hold back tears. "Ah...so you do know, after all." the stantler mused out loud, impressed.

"Jon, this is getting us nowhere..." Stella grumbled.

The stantler didn't seem to have heard the flying-type, or was perhaps trying to ignore her. In any case, he brought his face down to level with Lou's and grinned, a plan already devising in his head. "Say, kid. I have a little idea. You stick with us and do everything we tell you to do...and we'll set you free without a scratch to name. We'll never bother you again."

The riolu's eyes suddenly lit up. He wanted to be let free more than anything! He struggled to release his mouth from the stantler's grasp and in response, the pokemon smiled down at him wider. "Haha, well..." Jon chuckled. "You've got enthusiasm, I'll tell you that. But if you're going to want to get let free, not only will you have to abide by our commands...but you'll also have to promise that you won't raise your voice too high or try to escape. If you do that, well..." The stantler picked up a stick in his teeth and snapped it in half. The two halves of the stick crumpled to the ground and Lou stared at them in horror. "Let's just say it will result in a little pain on your part."

The riolu wasn't sure what to think now. He was stuck choosing between two paths – one as a slave, the other...pain. Lou certainly didn't want to help out these two pokemon, especially when he knew he was hopelessly afraid of them. Just what did they want him to do? Would he be capable of doing it?

_What would my father do?..., _the riolu wondered to himself. His dad was a strong, well-built pokemon who always seemed to make the right choices. The riolu looked to the older lucario in inspiration, hoping to one day follow in his footsteps and become one of the toughest pokemon in the land. _If my father were stuck in this situation...would he agree to this, or would he take on the pain with open paws? _It was true that he had a fear of assisting the threatening pokemon, but what if he messed up? Would it result in pain, either other way? Was there really no choice, when it all came down to it?

Jon spoke up again in a voice that hinted toward impatience. "So..make up your mind, squirt? You'll help us out, won't you?"

Lou closed his eyes, thinking it over for another second. He'd have to do this if he ever wanted to make it out alive...

He opened ruby eyes, a look of determination showing through and the stantler knew instantly that the decision had been made.

"Great!" the normal-type responded satisfactorily. "Looks like you're ready. Shall we start?"

...

"Lou! Lou, can you hear us?" the ivysaur called into the forest.

"Yeah, Louie...where are ya, kid?!" Meowth added, his paws cupped to his mouth in hopes that his voice would carry farther. Both he and Flower's calls were yet again answered with silence. They had been searching for quite some time, and there was still no sign of the pint sized fighting-type. Meowth had been sure he had to be close by, but he was beginning to have his doubts.

"Great Meowth...do you think you'll be able to find him soon?" Ralts whispered, clutching onto one of Flower's front legs. The ivysaur nudged him softly on the head in attempts to provide him with comfort.

"Don't worry, Ralts," she assured with a smile. "You know Lou, he always turns up. We'll find him." She allowed the psychic-type to nestle his wet, teary face into her chest. She looked toward Meowth, her expression helpless with a twinge of dying hope. Meowth felt he had to say something more in order to calm down the situation.

"Uhh...yeah, she's right." he added, unable to think of anything comforting to lend. "We ain't gonna leave dis place until we find him. I'm sure we must be gettin' close, after all da searchin' we've been doing, so..."

Ralts lifted his head and turned to the cat, smiling softly as he sniffed up stray tears. "I-I know you'll find him, Meowth. You're the Stronger One – there's nothing you can't do. You'll find him, Meowth. Everything's going to be alright, like Ms. Flower says..." He looked back at her. "Right?"

Flower managed to hide the worry in her voice. "Yes, there's nothing to worry about. It's OK...no more tears." She rubbed a paw along his back to cease the crying. He sniffed a couple more times, but didn't seem to relax. He could feel worry, nervousness and a bit of terror hanging in the air around him. Being a ralts, he had began to learn how to trace emotions from the other pokemon within a small distance of him, although whether the emotions he sensed just then stemmed from Flower or Meowth, he did not know.

"Hmm...it's gettin' a bit hard ta see with all dis fog comin' in around us..." Meowth commented, squinting as he tried to peer at the wilderness ahead. Where they were standing at the moment, the air wasn't too hard to see through, but the path stretching away seemed to disappear from view the farther you tried to look – if they went that way, surely they'd get lost. Going in that direction would ensure that the fog would get thicker and thicker, only until nearly all vision was impossible. Meowth knew he had good eyesight, but he could by no means see through fog as dense as that, and he doubted neither Flower nor Ralts had the ability either. He spun around to face the Ralts again and looked to him with a cocked brow. "Are ya sure dis is da way he went before he suddenly disappeared?" he quired, hoping to avoid the thick, cloudy path ahead.

"Yes..." came the small reply. "I'm pretty sure. You see, we were playing tag, but I think Lou was getting a little too into it...I called to him, giving up and letting him know that he won. But he didn't come back. I sat there and waited for him...he still didn't come back. The last I saw of him was as he was jumping among the trees, and as he went further, his image sort of just...faded...into all the white clouds." He sniffed, wiping his arm against his eyes. "Yes, I'm pretty sure this was the way..."

"Oh..." Meowth trailed off. That wasn't exactly the answer he wanted to hear, but he knew it was coming all the while. If it were up to him, he'd never want to set foot through the cloudy mass. He sighed to himself softly and looked back to the path. The clouds seemed to be thickening at an even faster rate – if they were going to go in there, they might as well do it now.

"W-What are we gonna do, Great Meowth?" came Ralts's voice from behind him. That kid still thought of him as a hero, as did everyone else. _But what exactly is a hero? A hero is brave, at all cost, right? He does stuff he doesn't really want ta do, just ta save others, doesn't he?, _the cat reminisced in his head worriedly._ If I run away scared now, no one will believe I'm da true Stronger One. I'll just be weak little Meowth, like I've always been...no one will be impressed with me anymore because I'll just be boring old me. The kids won't like me, da elders will have no respect for me, and Flower...she might not even be friends with me anymore, if she found out what a true coward I am..._

Meowth clenched his fist and set his eyes on the foggy path determinedly. _No, I can't let it come ta dat. If I can't do dis, dere's no way I'm gonna be able ta save da woild. All dis sacrifice would've been for nothin', and where would dat bring me? I gotta be brave for once...dat little ralts is countin' on me..._

He turned back to the duo, a smile set upon his face with his fist still clenched, ready to take on anything in the path ahead. "We're goin' in, that's what we're gonna do." he declared in the bravest voice he could muster.

Ralts's eyes shined from underneath green hair. "R-really?"

Flower sweatdropped. Was Meowth taking this a little too far? If he became too over-confident, he might endanger himself when real trouble popped up. It had happened when they first entered the dungeon and back when he battled Calix, too. It could happen again, and this time the consequences could be worse.

As Flower walked up to where the normal-type was standing, she softly nudged his side. "Try to be careful though, alright?" she whispered, hoping her advice would raise awareness of the possible danger they may or may not get caught up in.

Meowth smiled down at her with a wink. "Ah, don't worry, Flower," he whispered back with a flick of his paw. "I know what I'm doing. I'll be cautious."

Flower palmed herself in the face and shook her head, yet still found it hard not to be amused. There was absolutely _no _way to reason with that cat, especially when he had his mind set so strongly.

"Right, I'm sure he must be around here somewhere. Let's keep going."

So with that, the threesome continued their trek onwards to the path ahead. Just like Meowth had observed before, the clouds were indeed thickening the further they walked. The cat was at the head of the small group, leading at the front while the other two followed, Ralts sticking close to Flower to avoid getting himself lost. It was a strange feeling for Meowth to be at the front of team – after all, it was he who now had the power to make the decisions and choose which directions to go, a power he'd never been entrusted in the past.

_It feels a lot different den I'd imaged..., _he thought to himself as he took more steps into what was literally, the unknown. _Back in my woild, it was always Jessie who made da decisions. And, even above dat, it was da boss who really had da power to tell Meowth what ta do. He never had a say in anything back den in da past, but now here he is...in charge, for once. He's da Stronger One. Everything is in his paws, now. _At that point, the clouds around him became thicker, so thick in fact that his whole world appeared to have turned white. Bringing himself back to reality, he realised it was now impossible to depend on eyesight alone. Abruptly, he came to a stop.

Flower and Ralts, unable to see due to the blinding fog, bumped straight into Meowth.

"Oof!" he cried, having not been expecting a collision. He lost balance and fell face flat into the ground, his tail standing up stiff like a white flag of surrender.

The ivysaur felt the impact as she knocked into him and heard the sound of the his body thumping onto the dirt. "Oh, sorry Meowth! Are you OK? Uhhh...where are you?" She felt around in the empty air, her paw trying to locate some part of the scratch-cat.

"Dfown hur..." he mumbled into the earth before bringing himself back up and shaking his head in attempts to rid of the excess dirt on his face. He wiped himself off and turned to where he thought Flower and Ralts were standing. "Haha, I'm OK. Everyting's cool." he announced smoothly.

Flower and Ralts heard Meowth speaking in the wrong direction and sweatdropped. "Uhhh...we're over here, Meowth." Flower answered.

Meowth too, heard the voice being spoken in a different direction and turned to where he thought he had heard Flower talking. "Wait, where?"

"A little to the right, I think."

"Over here?"

"Wait, no...I think we're somewhere to the left, actually..."

Meowth turned again. "I don't tink dis is right," he commented. "I could've sworn I heard you speaking from over -"

"OK. Maybe I was wrong. Turn back to the right again and try to follow my voice."

Meowth walked around in circles like a blind man, his paws waving around in front of him as to try to feel the others while his ears pointed forward, going towards the sound of their voices. After walking around for a good five minutes or so, the cat finally managed to reach out and feel something that wasn't a tree or empty air. It appeared to be the top of Ralts's head, and he patted it gently a few times just to make sure.

"OK, dere. At least now we're back together again." he sighed, a sweatdrop rolling down the side of his head. "But what now? We has no idea where we's even going. What direction should we try foist?"

Flower squinted her ruby eyes, trying to see any form of a path at all, even if it were nothing more than a blurry, eye-watering image. She had to at least see something. _Something_. "Well..." she started, still hunting out the position of the path. "Maybe...we could try..."

"Yeah?"

"The path, I think..." Flower turned her head to the right. "Right?" She began to place a paw in the direction but stopped, her gut telling her otherwise. "Wait, no. Perhaps just go straight, and then..." Suddenly, the grass-type paused in what she was saying and stood perfectly still.

"...Flower?" Meowth tried, cutting into the silence. "Flower, what's da matter? Are you -"

"Shhhhh!" came the ivysaur's voice and Meowth stopped, wondering if his talking had broken her concentration in finding the path. "Quiet for a second. Listen..."

Meowth obeyed, putting a paw over his mouth to keep any words from spilling out accidentally like it had on so many past screw-ups. He strained his ears, hoping to catch on. Sure enough, there were voices – faint and a bit far off, but they were still voices.

"Hear that? Those voices..." Flower whispered, her body frozen in place.

"You think it could be him?" Meowth asked, also setting his voice low. It sounded like there was not just one, but maybe two voices. From the distance they were at, it was difficult to tell if one of those voices belonged to the riolu or not.

"I don't know..." Flower admitted, biting her lip. She'd be glad to find out if it were Lou's voice, but if he were with another pokemon, he could be in trouble. She exhaled sharply. _No Flower...stay calm...everything's going to work out. Worrying's only going to make it worse. Just stay calm..._

Suddenly Ralts, who had been quiet for a good while, couldn't hold it in longer. He began sobbing again, and this time it was a bit more panicked. He grabbed onto the closest thing beside him for comfort – Meowth's leg – and clutched onto it tightly.

"Whoa! What's da matter?!" Meowth asked, surprised. "Did you hear your friend over dere or somethin'?"

"...m-my horn..." he choked out, pressing his face against the cat's leg. Flower's face became sheet-white; however Meowth appeared to be even more confused.

"Hoih? Your horn?" he questioned, unsure if he heard correctly.

"Meowth!" Flower called through the fog, her voice frantic. "Meowth, we must go quickly!"

"But...but why? What's wrong with his horn?" The cat was worried about the behaviour of the duo, yet still instinctively curious of what was going on.

"It's a special ability Ralts has." Flower explained hastily. "The red horn that sticks out of his head...it traces emotions of other beings. Ralts can sense emotions of pokemon near him if he tries to, but pokemon he's good friends with, like Lou...he can determine their emotions even without thinking about it, just as long as that pokemon is within close proximity..."

Meowth eyes widened as he realised what she was saying. "So dat means..." he started.

"Quick! We might not get there in time!" Flower prodded him on. "Let's go!"

...

"So, kid...tell me, can you indicate what kind of aura flows around me?"

"Aura..." the small pokemon repeated softly.

"Yes, aura. With it, can you identify my personality? Can you...read my thoughts? What about her?" Jon pointed off to his murkrow counterpart. "Can you understand her? If you wanted to, could you use the powers of your aura to unravel her deepest and darkest secrets? Could you look at me and unravel mine?"

Lou clasped onto one of his arms nervously. "Well...I don't know. I-I mean, I don't really -"

"Look, it's a simple question." the deer interrupted impatiently. "All I would like to know is how you use aura and what it can do for you. I want to know if this could come in handy for us. Demonstrate your power, if you will."

Lou looked up, giving the normal-type a helpless stare. "I-I told you. I don't really know how to use it. My father knows how, but he's never...um...showed me yet. I-I just don't know if I can do it."

"Nonsense!" bellowed Jon. "You're a pokemon called riolu, are you not?! Why, every one of your kind should know how to do that! What sort of pathetic exception does that make you? Don't you lie to me! Show me the powers of your aura and teach me how to use it...this is an **order**!"

"I-I'm sorry, but I...really can't." the proceeder sobbed, trying to hold back tears. Even if he did know, he wouldn't have been able to teach any pokemon how to use it, would he? His father had spoken to him about aura before – only certain pokemon and even in some rare cases, humans themselves, could learn how to control aura. It was not something to be taught, but more a talent one could be born with. A pokemon like riolu automatically had the powers at birth, just like a pikachu would have powers of electricity or a charmander the powers of fire. He wanted to explain this to the stantler, but in the paralyzed state he was, it had become harder and harder to get words to come out.

"It's no use, Jon. Let the kid free." Stella grunted to her partner. "We'll have to go on guts alone if we want to do this. There's no way we can get this weak crybaby to cooperate in something of such importance anyway."

"We can't let this rare opportunity go to waste!" he hissed back at her. "Learning how to use the powers of aura will come to our advantage. That monster of a pokemon won't even be expecting it and we'll automatically gain the upper hand. Why, even just dragging the kid along with us and making him use his powers by force will help us. We could even use him as a distraction if we wanted. But no matter what we do, I'm not throwing this chance away!"

The riolu's eyes widened in fear. Just what were these two talking about?! They had a plan to use him for something, but what was it? Were they trying to fight off a super powerful pokemon? And they wanted to use his powers to help him succeed? He didn't know how to fight! A pokemon more powerful than the stantler and murkrow that had abducted him could destroy him easily and instantly!

"Be quiet, you fool!" Stella countered. "You think that kid can't hear us? He can't know anything about this!"

"Why not? We can make him keep a secret. After all, he's afraid of us. As long as we use his fears against him, we can make him do whatever we want!"

"Shut-_up_!" Stella snarled, whacking him the face with the use of a wing. Jon growled in response to this physical attack, jerking his head in a way that allowed his sharp antlers to strike the bird in the chest. The murkrow coughed, grasping the area where the antlers had stabbed her so mercilessly.

"Why, you..." she sneered. She bit down onto one of the more sensitive antlers with her beak. The deer responded to this by slamming his head down to the ground, taking the murkrow with it. Once on the ground, he pinned her down with one hoof in a similar manner to how he held down Lou before.

"Hey! I'm the stronger of us, here. If there's anybody who should be deciding what to do, that would be me!" he told her while keeping a hoof planted down on her head.

"We're both equals on this operation." she snapped from underneath. "Nobody said you were in charge. Besides, you and your crazy ideas never get us nowhere. I say we get rid of that kid and dispose him as necessary. Hit him hard in the head so he won't remember any of what he heard and send him away."

Jon snorted. "You seem to have forgotten who's stepping down on whom. I won't release you until you agree to go with my plans. We're taking that kid with us as long as I say so."

"Oh really?" Stella asked sarcastically, her eyes scanning around her from her position on the ground. "What kid?"

Jon looked up and suddenly realised the fighting-type had disappeared. "Where is the child?!" he demanded. He absentmindedly stepped off of Stella's head in order to walk around in circles, trying to catch sight of the small blue and black figure.

"Gee, I dunno..." the murkrow scoffed as she sat back up, shaking the dirt of her wings. "Maybe _someone _should have been paying better attention instead of messing around?!"

"Hey, I knew what I was doing!" the deer retorted. "If it weren't for you acting like such a -" Before he could finish his sentence, a nearby tree's leaves ruffled, catching both pokemons' attentions. Jon glanced up at the tree and noticed a long, black foot dangling from a branch. It quickly used the branch nearest to it to push itself up into the tree. The stantler smirked. His hostage was trying to get away, but he hadn't been quick enough to do so.

"Kid, I know you're in there." he spoke up to the tree. "Come down here this instant or there will be serious consequences in store for you!"

Lou clutched onto the trunk of the tree from where he was standing inside the leaves. He had climbed the tree hoping he could quickly hide himself so his abductors would decide to forget him and leave. He wasn't expecting the two of them to notice him.

"I said come down from there! **Now!**" Jon barked. Lou squinted his eyes shut and clutched tighter onto the tree, staying silent with no intent of speaking back.

"We can't let him get away. He's heard too much." Stella muttered. She turned her beak towards the tree. "Last chance!" she yelled up in the riolu's general direction. "Come down from that tree or you'll be sorry!" When no sounds came from the tree, the murkrow ascended into the sky. Lou held in a cry as the bird's beak poked in from the leaves, snapping around as if trying to grab him. The riolu, trying not to make little sound and movement, pulled himself further toward the tree as the the beak came closer to striking him.

"You're coming down from that tree if it's the last thing you do!" the stantler warned. He took a dash toward the tree and struck it with his head, causing it to shake. A sense of panic came over Lou as the tree shook around him like an earthquake while the beak still came snapping at his body. He couldn't help choking a small sob.

"He's in there! I heard him crying!" the beak mouthed. Having a new sense of where the target was from the sound of its voice, the beak managed to grab onto his tail and began trying to pull him out of the leaves. Lou held on tightly to the tree, whimpering at the pain in his tail as it was yanked and stretched by the murkrow from outside.

Seeing that his partner had gotten hold of the riolu, Jon quickened his pace. He rammed his head into the tree faster and with more force. The shaking was starting to get terrible and Lou felt that he couldn't keep up in the game of tug-o-war with the murkrow. He breathed harder as the shaking got more intense when suddenly, the branch he was standing on began to crack. It would be no time before he would plummet to the ground.

"HELP!" he screamed in terror, but his distress signal was of no use. The tree swayed and shook until the branch broke completely. Without anything else to stand on, Lou dangled helplessly from Stella's beak. He wanted to grab back onto the trunk of the tree, but his arms hung limply in the air. Exhausted from the recent episode, Lou did not struggle as he was pulled from out of the tree. The murkrow dove down to the ground with the blue tail of the riolu still held tightly in her beak.

"Now, now. You're certainly not going to be able to get away from us, now are you?" Jon chuckled as Stella dropped the riolu onto the earth. There were tears in the corners of the young pokemon's eyes as it lay on the ground in front of them.

"Yes. Didn't want to stick around, it seems." Stella added. "Now would be a good time to knock him unconscious and get the bloody heck out of here. I have no intention of this wimpy baby foiling our plans."

"No...Stella, don't you see?" Jon replied impatiently. "We need this little guy. This riolu, with a little bit of force, will be able to help us take down that pokemon." He saw the murkrow rolling her eyes and made a muttering noise. "Oh, come on. At least give me a chance. I know this kid may not look like much, but we might as well try. We already failed five times...it's about time we try something different for a change."

"Hmm...fine, you bring up a good point." Stella admitted hesitantly. "But if this doesn't work, we're going with one of my plans...you got it?!"

"Sure. Whatever you want." Jon huffed. He looked down at the riolu, still shivering down at their feet. "Anyway, we shouldn't be too far from that cave that leads to the summit of the dreadful beast. Let's take the kid and go." He picked the riolu up by the small scruff of his neck and carried him there between his dull, herbivore teeth. He began walking with the pokemon in his custody whilst Stella flapped her wings and flew alongside him, clearing up fog in the path ahead.

Suddenly, a voice came out of nowhere, stopping them in their tracks. "Hey! Lou! Where are you? Are you here?!"

Jon and Stella turned around to see an ivysaur and a ralts emerge from the fog. The ivysaur coughed and blinked her eyes. A meowth appeared beside the two of them, rubbing his eyes with the fists of his paws. "Hey, da fog seems to have cleared over here." he noted. "I wonder if -"

"Meowth, look! It's Lou!" gasped Ralts. The psychic-type pointed in the direction of the tiny ball of blue fluff curled underneath the stantler's mouth.

Flower saw the display and her heart immediately started pounding. "Lou..." she whispered. She ran towards the stantler and murkrow and stopped in front of them, staring at them threateningly with her ruby-red eyes. "Let him go!" she ordered. "Hand him over to us right now!"

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Lou stirred and his eyes opened slowly. "Flower...Meowth...Ralts!" he cried joyfully after looking into the faces of his rescuers.

The stantler and and murkrow laughed down at Flower. "Now, isn't that cute?" the murkrow cooed. "You a friend of this kid?"

"Yes. I'm his babysitter...as I also am for Ralts." Flower replied truthfully. The psychic-type in question scurried quietly over to her and hid himself behind her as to not look the intimidating pokemon in the eye. "It's my duty to watch over them and make sure they don't get themselves into trouble. So please, hand Lou over and nobody will get hurt."

The two of them began laughing at her again. Meowth growled softly and looked in their direction. He didn't like the way they were joking around with her. Clenching his fist, he dove between the ivysaur and the two others in a defensive stance. "She's bein' serious..." the cat warned. "Give us da kid or else."

Jon smirked and placed the riolu on the ground, holding him down with a hoof per usual. "Or else...what?"

"Or else I'll...I'll, uh..." Meowth thought for a second before extending long claws from each of his paws, holding them in front of his face. "Or else I'll fix yer faces up real good with my fury swipes!"

"Adorable." Stella mused. "But I must let you know that fighting against us will not be enjoyable for you. You children may think you are powerful, but you'll never be powerful enough to take us down. We'll destroy you without feeling any remorse."

"Meowth and I aren't children." Flower responded. "We can handle a good battle. We'll gladly take you on if it's for the sake of getting our Lou back."

Stella shook her head in amusement. "I'm telling you...fighting us would be a big mistake. Why go into battle fully aware of certain defeat? So sickingly naïve." She fluttered her wings in disgust. "Besides, why waste that time and effort here? We need to be fully energized for the battle with that great, red beast."

"Great red beast?" Meowth repeated.

Jon nodded his head. "Groudon." he replied. Stella glared at him after he had given away information she planned to keep secret to even more pokemon.

Flower seemed confused. "Groudon? Why would you want to fight Groudon? We've been having no earthquake trouble or the likes, lately. Why would it be such a big priority?"

Jon snorted and tossed his antlers. "Stop acting so serious, Miss. Doesn't it seem appropriate that we'd want to fight a legendary pokemon simply for the experience of it? I'm sure Groudon wouldn't mind a battle. Those massive legendary beasts do love to fight, and I'm sure he'd quite enjoy it. Stella and I are tired of fighting the same weak pokemon anyway...so why not take on the challenge?"

"Hmmm...well..." Flower cocked her head suspiciously. "If you're wanting to fight Groudon so badly, then what exactly are you doing here? You will find no Groudon in this dungeon. Groudon resides inside Magma Cavern, as far as I know." She realised that these two pokemon mustn't be inhabitants of Foggy Forest. A pokemon in the forest would obviously know that Groudon did not exist in their home. Plus, murkrow wasn't a pokemon often found in Foggy Forest, either. These two were obviously outsiders.

"Is that so?" asked Stella. "Well now...maybe our Groudon here is taking a little vacation."

"True. We saw him here, with our own two eyes." Jon replied. "Not here exactly, per say. It was up at the summit of the cave right near here. The cave was crawling with millions of fire-type pokemon and at at the top of it was Groudon himself."

"I still find that hard to believe..." Flower said, mostly to herself. She shook her head, regaining herself. "Anyway, that isn't why we're here. You know quite well what it is we want. Please allow us take Lou back and we'll let you two on your way."

"Sorry...no can do, Miss." the stantler responded soberly.

Meowth slanted his eyes. "And why do you get ta be da one to decide dat?" he asked. "Da kid doesn't belong ta you. Flower asked you'se nicely, so give him back to her!"

"Nice isn't exactly going to cut it, cat." sneered Stella.

"Please! At least tell me why you want him." pleaded Flower. "There has to be a logical explanation. Do you want our money? Our items? You can take it all, if you want."

"Heheh...the girl's helpless." snickered Jon.

"Pathetic." agreed Stella.

"Hey! Leave her alone!" Meowth growled. "I'm warnin' ya! Lay one hoof or wing on her and you mess with me!" He took his defensive position again, steadily holding his extended claws out as if ready to strike any moment.

"Sheesh...calm down, lover boy. We were just messing with her." Jon snorted, rolling his eyes.

"Besides, we don't want your money or any of that other junk." added the murkrow. "We just want your kid to help us out with Groudon. He agreed to help us out in fighting the monster, so we intend on taking him with us for the time being."

Lou's eyes widened from down on the ground. "N-no, I don't wanna -" he started but Jon's hoof pushed his face into the dirt, cutting off his dialect.

Flower gasped. "You can't take him to fight off a legendary pokemon!" she spurted. "Lou's way too young to go against something that huge...in fact, he's never battled in his life! It's way to dangerous for him!"

Jon grinned. "Oh, this petty wimp? He could use the training."

"Give him back to Flower!" hissed Meowth. "Do it right now or I'll slash yer face up until it stings for weeks!"

"Seriously, cat...cool your jets."

"I said, give 'im back!" Meowth leaped into the air towards the stantler with his sharp claws extended. Jon saw the sudden attack and, before he could be struck, made copies of himself that formed a circle around the cat. Meowth's claws sliced into one of the illusionary stantler and he fell down. When he looked up, about fifteen stantler were all looking down at him.

"I told you you shouldn't mess with us, cat." Jon's voice sounded from each stantler's mouth. Meowth got up again, enraged from the insult. Without thinking, he sliced through another fake stantler, sending himself on the ground once more. He started getting up again, but was then struck by an attack from the sky. Meowth screeched as he fell into the dirt, having been hit squarely in the back with the murkrow's sharp beak.

"Meowth!" Flower called. She looked back at Ralts behind her, cowering. "Stand back a little, Ralts." she advised him and the small pokemon obeyed, stepping back and hiding himself behind the same tree Lou was perched inside moments before. With Ralts safe, Flower engaged herself for battle, shooting razor leaves from her sides and towards the circle of fifteen or so stantler. The leaves sliced through all the illusions and caused them to fade until the leaves eventually came to the correct stantler. Jon cried out in surprise as he was hit and all the remaining stantler disappeared completely.

"Hmmm...not bad. It appears you know what you're doing in battle, at least." Stella chuckled. "A little more so than your cat friend, I must say." She charged forward with another peck attack, this time to Flower. The ivysaur saw it coming and managed to dodge it. Stella dove down again when Flower wasn't watching and landed her peck on the ivysaur's budding flower. She yelped, taking the full impact of the super effective hit.

"Flower..." Meowth breathed. He planted a look of malice onto the murkrow and once again, blindly jumped into battle in attempts to slash up the flying-type's body. Stella smirked and rose higher into the air, causing him to fall for the umpteenth time.

"What a joke." she laughed down at the feline. "Your actions are so predictable, it could make any battle yawn-worthy."

"Are you kidding? It's not even worth battling these clowns." Jon replied. "I have never seen a sorrier bunch than this." He turned to his partner as she flew to the air beside him. "We must stop wasting our time and get on our way."

"Agreed." she replied, her voice emotionless.

"No! Come..._pant_...back here with da kid!" Meowth yelled between breaths. He got up as quickly as his pained back allowed and raced toward the pokemon full-on, not one to quickly give up on his objective.

"Foolish kitty...I must admit you are quite determined." Jon chuckled. "But this battle is over." Before Meowth could completely reach him, the stantler let out psychic waves that reached the all five of the other pokemon, including Stella.

"Ah, no! That's a..." Flower staggered and collapsed onto the ground.

"A...a...what...?" Meowth asked. His legs felt like jelly and his eyelids felt like rocks. His body began to fall to the ground and no matter how much he struggled to keep his eyes open, they wanted desperately to stay shut.

"H-h-...hyp...hypnosis....attack..." Flower managed to get out before she fell into a complete slumber.

"F-Flower..." Meowth stammered, trying to call out to the sleeping pokemon but his own voice was beginning to drift away. It wasn't long before he too, had fallen asleep snoring as if put to sleep by a jigglypuff's song.

"Like I said...a pathetic bunch." Jon laughed, looking to what he had caused. He turned to his bird-type counterpart. "That Insomnia ability of yours sure does come in handy, too."

"Of course. I could get hit by millions of your hypnotic waves and never once even blink an eye." she bragged. "A perfect strategy, if I do say so myself."

"Perfect indeed." agreed Jon with a nod. "And now that they're done with, we can be on our way. That sleeping effect can put them out for hours if not awakened – they most likely won't be messing with us anytime soon." He picked up the sleeping riolu in his teeth and together, he and Stella went on their way to Steam Cave in hopes of reaching the summit.

_I wonder...I wonder if they're gone, yet..._ Ralts thought to himself, his hands still covered over his eyes from when he first got hit by the sleep inducing attack. He peeked from out of the tree and gasped – Meowth and Flower were laying still on the ground. The stantler and murkrow had left, but Ralts could still hear their voices faintly.

"Ah no...Flower and the Great Meowth..." He remembered hearing from the two pokemon just a minute or so before that it was sleep attack – so they should be alright. They probably weren't dead, just sleeping.

_But if that attack hit me too...then why didn't I fall asleep?, _he wondered. What the little psychic-type had failed to realise was that it was his Trace ability that had saved him. Whilst hiding behind the tree from the attack, his Trace ability had somehow managed to trace the Insomnia ability of the murkrow. Having had her ability, it was impossible for him to fall asleep for the time being.

"Well, maybe that sleep attack didn't hit me..." he reminisced to himself. "But somehow, I was able to stay awake." He looked down to the sleeping meowth and ivysaur below him. "Well, whatever happened, I know I'm not asleep. Lou's in trouble, and I need help from the Great Meowth and Flower to find him. I've gotta wake them up, and fast!"

Ralts raced to both pokemon, shaking them and calling their names in order to get them to wake up. The stantler and murkrow had only just left with his friend...and if he could wake Meowth and Flower up now, they'd have a good chance of getting Lou back. However, the two of them seemed to be in a deep sleep.

He'd have to find a way to get them back on their feet again...but how?

...

_Whoa...dang, late chapter. But with some...err....prodding, I finally did manage to finish. It's funny, I usually get about ten pages in after about a week but then just kind of leave the story to sit for a while until I finish. I'm such an odd specimen. o.o Hopefully I won't leave future chapters sitting so long, but with Wolfy you can never tell such things. As the summer rolls in, I may get a bit more extra time to write so...we'll see. But, as for right now, I'll just have to see you all on the next chapter. Oh, and Happy Summer! =D_


End file.
